Clashes in Afghanistan over 'Quran burning'
22/02/2012| IslamWeb
More than 1,000 protesters threw stones at police and security forces fired shots in a second day of angry protests in Afghanistan over reports that copies of the Noble Quran were burnt at an airbase used by NATO and coalition troops.
Several people were reported wounded on Wednesday when security forces opened fire as demonstrators charged police lines, smashed car windows and blocked a major highway outside Camp Phoenix, a US base in Kabul.
According to the AFP news agency, one person was killed and 10 were wounded when shots were fired at anti-US demonstrators in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad on Wednesday.
In the capital Kabul, at least 11 people were wounded when shots were fired into a crowd of demonstrators trying to march on the city centre.
Police spokesman Ashmat Estanakzai said "people are marching towards Kabul. Police are trying to stop them. We have sent more reinforcements to the area."
He denied that police had fired at protesters, who burned cars and attacked shops as they tried to march on the city centre.
The US embassy announced it was on lockdown and all travel in Afghanistan was suspended.
The protests, which follow reports of the discovery by local laborers of charred copies of the Noble Quran as they collected rubbish at the Bagram airbase, prompted apologies from the US government and the commander of NATO-led forces in Afghanistan.
US Defense Secretary, Leon Panetta issued an apology for the "inappropriate treatment" of Islam's holy book at the base and backed General John Allen's call for "swift and decisive action to investigate this matter".
"These actions do not represent the views of the United States military. We honor and respect the religious practices of the Afghan people, without exception," he said.
Protesters shouted "Death to America!" and "Death to (Afghan President Hamid) Karzai!" in a large demonstration on the outskirts of the Afghan capital Kabul.
Separate protests also took place in the eastern city of Jalalabad, where demonstrators praised the leader of the Afghan Taliban, shouting "Long live Mullah Omar!", according to Reuters.
A second protest erupted in west Kabul, involving about 100 university students, a police spokesman said, adding that riot police were present and the demonstration was under control.
Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith reporting from Herat said: "These protests that began outside the Bagram base on Tuesday, have now seemed to have spread to other cities across Afghanistan."
Hundreds of protesters besieged Bagram, about 60km north of Kabul, on Tuesday, firing slingshots and petrol bombs at the gate of the base.
Reports suggest the US had confiscated materials that they suspected Taliban prisoners were using to send messages.
"Investigation launched"
Carsten Jacobson, a spokesman for the NATO-led international force in Afghanistan, said an investigation had been launched into the issue and preliminary information showed that Noble Quran copies had not been burned.
"Fortunately for all of us, local workers recognized the type of material and intervened. Actually the disposal process was stopped in time but it led to protests over the day. As far as we know, and the investigations are ongoing, they were not burned. But we have to wait for the results."
Allegations that NATO troops working inside the base had set fire to copies of the Noble Quran were first reported by a senior government official.
“It is surprising that after all these years American and NATO forces have been here in Afghanistan and all the lessons they have learned about how important it is to treat Islamic material with due respect, this sort of thing is still happening," Aljazeera correspondent said.
"That is what causes so much offence here in Afghanistan and adds fuel to the anti-American and anti-foreigner feelings."
PHOTO CAPTION
An Afghan youth throws rocks towards the U.S. military base after protesters knocked down one of the concrete walls surrounding the base in Bagram, north of Kabul February 21, 2012.
Al-Jazeera