Riots rock Yemen, Egypt over film
DEMONSTRATORS attacked the US embassies in Yemen and Egypt yesterday in protest against a film they consider blasphemous to Islam – and American warships headed to Libya after the death of the US ambassador there in related violence earlier in the week.
Hundreds of Yemeni demonstrators broke through the main gate of the heavily fortified compound in eastern Sanaa, shouting “We sacrifice ourselves for you, Messenger of God”. Earlier they smashed windows of security offices outside the embassy and burnt cars.
“We can see a fire inside the compound and security forces are firing in the air. The demonstrators are fleeing and then charging back,” one wit- ness said. A security source said at least 15 people were wounded, some by bullets. An embassy spokesman said its personnel were reported to be safe.
In Egypt, protesters hurled stones at a police cordon around the US embassy in central Cairo after climbing into the embassy grounds and tearing down the American flag. The state news agency said 13 people were injured in the violence.
The protests have been sparked by a film which allegedly insults the Prophet Mohammad. Clips of the film, Innocence of Muslims, had been circulating on the internet for weeks before the protests erupted.
They show an amateurish production portraying the Prophet Mohammad as a womaniser, a homosexual and a child abuser. For many Muslims, any depiction of the Prophet is blasphemous.
An actress in the California production said the video as it appeared bore no resemblance to the original filming. She had not been aware it was about the Prophet Mohammad.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai called the making of the movie a devilish act but said he was certain those involved in its production were a very small minority.
Islamist gunmen staged a military-style assault on the US consulate in Libya over the film on Tuesday.
The US ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans died in the assault, carried out with guns, mortars and grenades. Eight Libyans were injured. – Reuters