New Afghan Koran protests erupt

23 February 2012 Last updated at 02:44 ET

There have now been three days of protests over the burning of the Koran at a US military base

Anti-American protests are taking place across Afghanistan for a third day following the burning of the Koran at a US military base.

Local police said several hundred people chanting "Death to America" marched through the main town in Laghman province, east of Kabul.

Other peaceful demonstrations are taking place across the country.

Meanwhile the Taliban has called on Afghans to kill foreign soldiers in revenge for "insulting" the Koran.

In a statement a Taliban spokesman said Afghans should "not stop at protesting" but instead target military bases and personnel to "teach them a lesson that they will never again dare to insult the Holy Koran".

US officials apologised on Tuesday after Korans were "inadvertently" put in an incinerator at Bagram airbase.

Officials at Bagram reportedly believed Taliban prisoners were using the books to pass messages to each other.

The charred pages of the volumes were found by local labourers.

'Obama effigy'

Afghan security officials fear the protests could spread further, with social pressure in other towns and cities to show their outrage at the desecration of the Koran.

So far police and tribal elders have told the BBC there are seven main protests across the country, each involving many hundreds of people.

In Mehterlam, the capital of Laghman province in the east, more than 3,000 have gathered, with some burning an effigy of Barack Obama.

The BBC's Andrew North in Kabul says the Taliban still has a strong influence in that region.

Police say fights broke out as they stopped hundreds of protestors entering the centre of the capital Kabul.

Karzai calls for calm

In Asadabad, around 1,500 demonstrators are said to be burning US flags and tyres and shouting anti-American slogans.

On Wednesday seven people died and dozens were injured in protests over the burning.

President Hamid Karzai called on Afghans "not to resort to violence" in their protests.

"Afghan security forces should not use violence... and protect civilian lives and property," Mr Karzai added in a statement.

In a statement after an emergency debate, Afghan MPs condemned what had happened.

They also called for punishment of those responsible and asked the Afghan government to send its own delegation to Bagram to establish exactly what happened and why.

Isaf investigation

Isaf spokesman Brig Gen Carsten Jacobson says the incident was an unfortunate mistake

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said he and the top commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan, Gen John Allen, had apologised to the Afghan people "and disapprove of such conduct in the strongest possible terms".

Muslims consider the Koran the literal word of God and treat each book with deep reverence.

The Nato-led Isaf force is now investigating the incident, a spokesman told the BBC.

"It was the local workers who discovered the nature of the material and therefore stopped worse things from happening," said Brig Gen Carsten Jacobson.

Last year, at least 24 people died in protests across Afghanistan after a hardline US pastor burned a Koran in Florida.

23 Feb, 2012

-
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-asia-17137338
--
Manage subscription | Powered by rssforward.com