A Qatari protester chants anti-US slogans Friday during a demonstration in front of the US Embassy in Doha, Qatar, as part of widespread anger across the Muslim world about a film ridiculing Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). — AP KHARTOUM – Anti-US protests by crowds whipped into fury by a film that mocks Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) continued across the Muslim world Friday, as violence exploded in Sudan, Lebanon and Yemen leaving five people dead and dozens wounded. The protests broke out when Muslims emerged from mosques following the Friday prayers to voice their anger at the film made in the United States. In Khartoum, guards on the roof of the US embassy fired warning shots as a security perimeter was breached by dozens of flag-waving protesters, part of a crowd of thousands who had earlier stormed the British embassy and set fire to the German mission. A police vehicle near the embassy was also torched as hundreds of demonstrators broke through an outer security cordon after two protesters were killed. Police had earlier fired volleys of tear gas in a bid to prevent the 10,000-strong crowd marching on the US embassy after they had swarmed over the German mission, attacking its facade and tearing down the flag to replace it with a black Islamist one before torching the building. Violence also erupted in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, where a crowd of 300 protesters attacked and set fire to a KFC restaurant, sparking clashes with police in which one person died and 25 were injured, sources said. Yemeni security forces blocked all roads to the mission, after similar confrontations left four people dead Thursday. In Cairo, where the first protests against the film broke out Tuesday, protesters again clashed with police outside the US embassy. Calm, however, returned later after the Muslim Brotherhood withdrew a call for nationwide demonstrations, saying it wanted to avoid loss of life and damage to property. In Iran, meanwhile, thousands of people yelling “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” rallied in central Tehran. In Tunis, three people were killed and another 28 wounded in clashes at the US embassy, which was stormed by an angry mob. Two of the injured were in a critical condition, a source said, without giving any details about the victims. A thick black plume of smoke was seen rising from the embassy car park, with a policeman saying that some demonstrators had thrown petrol bombs. Protests have spread across the Middle East and further afield, including to Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Kashmir, Pakistan, Iraq, Israel and the Gaza Strip and Kuwait. Violence also erupted in Asia, with police saying 86 people were arrested after attacking the US consulate in the Indian city of Chennai. In Kabul, hundreds of Afghan protesters took to the streets, setting fire to an effigy of US President Barack Obama and demanding the death of a film-maker who they say insulted the Prophet. Washington sought to keep a lid on the demonstrations by spelling out that the controversial film was made privately by a small group of individuals. – Agencies
