KABUL, Afghanistan -- Hundreds of
Afghans burned cars and threw rocks at a U.S. military base as a
demonstration against an anti-Islam film that ridicules the Prophet
Muhammad turned violent in the Afghan capital early Monday.
And
in Jakarta, Indonesians angered over the film clashed with police
outside the U.S. Embassy, hurling rocks and Molotov cocktails and
burning tires outside the mission. At least one police officer was seen
bleeding from the head and being carried to safety by fellow officers.
The
low-budget film, privately produced in the United States, portrays
Muhammad as a fraud, a womanizer and a child molester. It sparked
violent protests in many Muslim countries in recent days, many of them
outside U.S. diplomatic posts around the world.
The
U.S. Ambassador to Libya was killed during an attack on the consulate
in Benghazi last week; protesters have also stormed the U.S. Embassy in
Tunis and held violent demonstrations outside posts in Egypt and Sudan.
The U.S. has responded by deploying additional military forces to
increase security in certain hotspots.
In
Kabul on Monday, the air was thick with smoke on Jalalabad road -- a
main thoroughfare into the city center where the crowd burned shipping
containers and tires. At least one police vehicle was burned by the mob
before they finally dispersed around midday, according Daoud Amin, the
deputy police chief for Kabul province.
Earlier
in the morning, men lobbed rocks from the pavement and lobbed them at
Camp Phoenix, a U.S. military base that lies along the road. More than
20 police officers were slightly injured -- all from being hit by rocks,
said Gen. Fahim Qaim, the commander of a city quick-reaction police
force.
"Death to America!" and "Death to those
people who have made a film and insulted our prophet," shouted the
crowd. Police officers shot into the air to hold back about 800 people
and prevent them from pushing toward government buildings downtown, said
Azizullah, a police officer at the site who, like many Afghans, only
goes by one name.
As the Jalalabad rally was
broken up, demonstrations picked up elsewhere in the city. In the
southeastern part of Kabul, about 50 protesters gathered in front of a
mosque, shouting "Death to America," said police officer Ahmad Shafiq
but there were no signs of violence.
Protester Mohammad Humayun, 28, called on President Obama to bring those who have insulted the prophet to justice.
"People
around the world are angry," he added. "It is the responsibility of all
Muslims to show reaction whenever they hear any disregard and
disrespect."
Wahidullah Hotak, another protester, said the rallies will continue "until the people who made the film go to trial."
A number of Afghan religious leaders urged calm.
"Our
responsibility is to show a peaceful reaction, to hold peaceful
protests. Do not harm people, their property or public property," said
Karimullah Saqib, a cleric in Kabul.
Outside
the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, people also tried to ignite a fire truck as
Molotov cocktails exploded against a fence surrounding the embassy
compound. Police used a bullhorn to call for calm.
The
demonstration started off peacefully as the group of several hundred
protesters, many dressed in white, marched toward the mission. The U.S.
Embassy has issued an emergency message to American citizens, saying
about 1,000 people were expected to demonstrate in front of the mission
with about 1,500 police on hand.
Demonstrations
were also held Monday in the Indonesian cities of Medan and Bandung.
Over the weekend in the central Java town of Solo, protesters stormed
KFC and McDonald's restaurants, forcing customers to leave and
management to close the stores.
In neighboring
Pakistan, around 3,000 students and teachers rallied Monday against the
film in the town of Chaman in southwestern Baluchistan province. The
crowd burned an American flag and an effigy of Obama, said officer
Mohammad Shahid.
Teacher Abdul Malik said it
was an obligation of all Muslims to protest the video, while Abdul
Waris, a 12-year-old student who attended the rally, said his teachers
told him the U.S. and Israel produced the film. The teachers canceled
classes and told the students to go protest
The
Afghan government has blocked video-sharing web site YouTube to prevent
Afghans from viewing a clip of the anti-Muslim film. Officials have
said it will remain blocked until the video is taken down. Other Google
services, including Gmail, were also blocked in Afghanistan during much
of the weekend and the block continued on some providers Monday.
The
wave of international violence began Tuesday when mainly Islamist
protesters climbed the U.S. Embassy walls in the Egyptian capital of
Cairo and tore down the American flag from a pole in the courtyard.
Chris
Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, was killed Tuesday along with
three other Americans, as violent protesters stormed the consulate in
Benghazi. Obama has vowed that the attackers would be brought to justice
but also stressed that the U.S. respects religious freedom.