PROTESTS CONTINUE NEAR US EMBASSY IN CAIRO
Egyptian security forces used tear gas on a raging crowd of demonstrators near the US Embassy in Cairo. Several dozen people have reportedly been injured as police dispersed the stone-throwing demonstrators.
Dozens of riot police deployed at the scene have managed to push protesters back in Cairo’s side streets near the embassy, after the crowd began throwing projectiles.
Clashes continued into the night, with protesters attacking police with stones and petrol bombs.
Several hundred protesters rallied in front of the embassy on Wednesday, chanting “leave Egypt,” and demanding a US apology for an American-made move that ridicules Islam’s prophet, Muhammad.
Some of the protesters have been injured, state news agency MENA reported, giving no further details. Witnesses reporting the incident on Twitter said as many as several dozen people may have been injured. At least six police officers suffered injuries during the clashes, said Alla Mahmoud, a spokesman for Egypt’s Interior Ministry.
The incident comes just a day after some 2,000 demonstrators gathered around the US embassy, while a group of the most conservative protesters tore down the American flag and replaced it with a black banner bearing the traditional Islamic message, “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His Prophet.”
Four participants in Tuesday’s demonstration who had climbed the wall of the embassy were arrested and transferred to the prosecutor’s office. Police are still looking for others involved in the incident.
The now-notorious movie caused a wave of protests in the Arab world. On Tuesday, armed militants attacked the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, killing the ambassador and three other diplomatic staff.
President Barack Obama strongly condemned the attacks on US ambassadorial premises, pledging that the US would be “relentless” in its pursuit of the attackers. Following the incident, the US military has sent two warships toward the coast of Libya and deployed a team of some 50 Marines to the country to reinforce security at American diplomatic facilities.
