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Cartoon protest turns deadly
07/02/2006 12:13 - (SA)
Kabul - Thousands of rioters clashed with police and Nato peacekeepers across Afghanistan on Tuesday in demonstrations against the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, officials said. One person was killed and scores wounded.
Norwegian troops fired on hundreds of protesters outside their base in Maymana, a city in the northwest, after the demonstrators shot at them and threw grenades, said provincial Governor Mohammed Latif. One of the demonstrators was shot dead while two others were wounded, he said.
A spokesperson for Nato's peacekeeping force, Squadron Leader Annie Gibson-Sexton, said troops used tear gas against the protesters, but could not confirm that shots had been fired. She said there were no reports of injuries among the Norwegian troops.
In the capital, Kabul, police used batons to beat stone-throwing protesters outside the Danish diplomatic mission office and near the offices of the World Bank.
Four killed on Monday
An Associated Press reporter saw police arrest several people, many of whom were injured.
Security has been tightened in the past 24 hours in Kabul, home to some 3 000 foreign diplomats, aid workers and others. Police have set up barricades and peacekeepers have been on constant patrol.
More than 3 000 protesters threw stones at government buildings and an Italian peacekeeping base in the western city of Herat, but no one was injured, said a witness, Faridoon Pooyaa.
Provincial administrator Asiluddin Jami said police fired warning shots to prevent the demonstrators from entering the buildings and the base.
About 5 000 people clashed with police in Pulikhumri town, north of Kabul, and the windows of several buildings and cars were smashed, said Sayed Afandi, a police commander.
Police in about half a dozen other towns and cities reported thousands of people protesting, but there were no other reports of violence.
Demonstrations have been held across Afghanistan since late last week, with the size of the crowds progressively swelling. On Monday, four people were killed and at least 19 hurt during clashes, including one outside Bagram, the main US military base.
The cartoons were first published in a Danish newspaper in September, and more drawings have recently been printed in other European papers, either to illustrate the controversy or demonstrate support for freedom of the press.
Islamic tradition bars any depiction of the prophet, favourable or otherwise. Protests have erupted in several Muslim nations in the past week.
- AP
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