10 killed in protests against ‘anti-Islam’ movie

 

Protests across the Middle East over the amateur American movie have left at least 10 persons dead.

At least 10 more people have been killed in four countries where protests were held against the ‘anti-Islam’ movie made in the United States.

Reports say four people were killed outside the United States embassy in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen; Tunisia recorded three fatalities; while Sudan had two.

An attack on two American-owned fast food joints in Lebanon also left at least one person dead, reports say.The deaths came as the protests over the amateur movie, Innocence of Muslims, escalated on the fourth day spreading to nearly a dozen countries.

Protests have been reported in Egypt, where the demonstrations started on Tuesday, as well as Tunisia, Yemen, Sudan, Lebanon, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

There were protests in the Maldives and Sri Lanka. A brief protest also occurred in London, where about 200 people called for punishment for the makers of the film.The US has deployed a fast-response team of 50 marines to boost security in Sanaa.

The deaths were the first fatalities since four American diplomats were killed in Libya on Wednesday. The bodies of Ambassador Chris Stevens, and the other three Americans killed arrived to State honours in the US on Friday.

President Barack Obama repeated his warning that the US will hunt down those attacking American interests.

“I’m making it clear, justice will come to those who harm Americans,” he said.

Across the Middle East, security forces battled protesters with tears gas, stun grenade and rubber bullets on Friday after the Jumat prayers.

The killings in Tunisia came after protesters breached the US embassy compound in the capital Tunis. The US embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, also came under intense attack leaving one person dead. The UK and German embassies were also attacked in Tunis.

The move has drawn criticisms from the British government which called for the arrest of the perpetrators, the BBC reports.

 

“I condemn in the strongest possible terms, today’s attack, and call on the Sudanese authorities to ensure that those involved are brought to justice,” foreign secretary, William Hague was quoted as saying.

 

Organizers of the protests in Egypt have striven to eschew violence warning against attacks on foreign embassies. But later on Friday, Islamic militants attacked an international observer post in the country’s troubled Sinai region.

 

The base houses members of a multinational force including Americans.