Protests against America spread through Yemen, Iran, Bangladesh

The U.S. Embassy in Yemen was briefly breached by protesters yesterday, and American diplomatic compounds throughout the Muslim world remained on high alert, as outrage spread over a mysterious anti-Muslim film apparently made in the United States.


In Tehran, anti-American protesters gathered outside the Swiss Embassy, which represents U.S. interests in Iran, CNN reported. The United States does not have an embassy in Iran.

There were more protests outside the Cairo embassy yesterday. Security forces eventually pushed the demonstrators away from the embassy onto Tahrir Square – the crucial site of Egypt’s 2011 revolution.

Agence France-Press reported that about 100 demonstrators in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital, burned an American flag and chanted slogans on Thursday, including “We won’t accept mocking of Prophet Muhammad” and “Down with American imperialism.”

The protesters were mostly seminary students, the news agency reported. They gathered outside the Baitul Mokarram Mosque, the largest in the country, but called for more protests Friday and said the U.S. embassy could be the target. Bangladeshi police told AFP security at the embassy was being enhanced.

Witnesses said hundreds of people stormed the embassy in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, breaking through the outer security perimeter and setting fire to a building before being driven back by Yemeni security forces. Clashes continued for a third day outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, and smaller protests were reported in front of diplomatic offices in Iran and outside a mosque in Bangladesh.

The violence in Yemen again raised questions about whether vulnerable Middle East governments are willing or even able to protect American targets in their countries. It was was a further measure of the depth of anger about the film insulting the prophet Muhammad, which was reportedly made in California, although much about its origins remains unknown.

Yemen’s president, Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi, quickly issued an apology to the United States, and ordered an investigation into incident.
“The Government of Yemen condemns any and all acts of violence against diplomatic personnel and facilities,” a statement from Yemen’s government said. “We strongly urge all those that would wish to incite others to violence to cease immediately.”

The unrest in Sanaa came two days after U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and three other staffers were killed at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, and angry protesters breached the walls of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo.

President Barack Obama spoke by phone with Libyan President Mohamed Magariaf late Wednesday, accepting condolences for the American deaths in Benghazi and expressing appreciation for the cooperation between the United States and the people and government of Libya in the wake of the attack, the White House said.

In Brussels, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi yesterday gave his strongest condemnation yet of the attack on the Cairo embassy. He had issued only tepid statements on Wednesday, and his Muslim Brotherhood organization had called for further protests in front of the diplomatic compound.

Morsi said he condemned the security breach on Tuesday — in which protesters scaled the walls, pulled down an American flag and destroyed it — “in the clearest terms.”

“I assured Barack Obama that we will not permit any attacks” on U.S. diplomatic compounds across Egypt, said Morsi, who is in Belgium for a visit to the European Union.

But Morsi also denounced the anti-Islamic film that appears to have sparked many of the protests, adding that he had spoken to Obama about it. “I called him to ask him to put an end to such behaviour,” Morsi said, referring to the making of the film.

In Yemen, witnesses said security forces allowed hundreds to gather on a usually-sealed-off street that is in front of the embassy. Protesters stormed a wall, set fire to a building inside the compound, broke windows and carried away office supplies and other souvenirs before being pushed back and dispersed by Yemeni security forces.

“We want to expel the American ambassador,” said Abdelwadood al-Mutawa, a protester who was walking out of the embassy compound. He said he was motivated by reports of the movie mocking Prophet Muhammad, even though the film was not made by, sanctioned by or connected to the U.S. government.
“We cannot accept any insult to our prophet,” Mutawa said. “It’s a red line.”
Another protester said that some of the security forces protecting the building appeared sympathetic to the demonstrators’ cause.

“Some soldiers were telling me, ‘These are dogs, and we cannot accept insulting our prophet,’ “ said Yusef Mohammad.

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