New protests over Koran burning

Thousands staged new demonstrations today over the burning of Korans at a US military base in Afghanistan, evidence that President Barack Obama’s apology has failed to quiet the outrage over the incident.

About 4,000 protesters marched toward the governor’s compound in Khost, the capital of Khost province, police said. In the eastern part of Nangarhar province, several thousand shouted “Death to America” and burned a cardboard picture of Mr Obama.

In the capital Kabul, about 100 protesters gathered near the ministry of defence but scattered when Afghan soldiers fired in the air. One protester suffered a bullet wound in his right leg.

Anti-American protesters also gathered in several other locations around Kabul.

“We don’t care about Obama’s apology,” said Kamaluddin, a 25-year-old Kabul protester. “We have to protest to be responsible to our god. They are burning our Koran. An apology is not enough.”

Afghan security forces were put on high alert to deal with demonstrations that were expected around the country after Friday prayers.

US General John Allen, the senior commander of US and Nato troops in Afghanistan, said an investigation into the burning incident at Bagram Air Field was under way and called on Afghans to be patient and exercise restraint.

“Working together with the Afghan leadership is the only way for us to correct this major error and ensure that it never happens again,” Gen Allen said.

He called on everyone “to exercise patience and restraint as we continue to gather the facts”.

The US-led military coalition says the Muslim holy books were sent by mistake on February 19 to a rubbish burning pit at Bagram Air Field, north of the capital.

Despite Afghan president Hamid Karzai’s appeal for calm, thousands of protesters, some shouting “Long live Islam” and “Death to America” rallied on Thursday in the capital and in seven of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. At least five protesters were killed.

The deadliest protest was outside an American base in the Khogyani district of Nangarhar province. Two protesters were killed by Afghan police and an Afghan soldier turned his gun on US troops, killing two. Elsewhere, a Norwegian soldier was wounded by a hand grenade hurled into a coalition compound.

The unrest started on Tuesday when Afghan workers at the sprawling American base noticed that Korans and other Islamic texts were in the rubbish that coalition troops dumped into the pit.

Some Afghan workers burned their fingers as they tried to salvage some of the books. Afghan government officials said initial reports indicated four Korans were burned.

The materials had been taken from a library at Parwan Detention Facility, which adjoins the base, because they contained extremist messages or inscriptions. Writing inside a Koran is forbidden in the Islamic faith, although it was unclear whether the handwritten messages were found in the holy book or other reading materials.

A military official said it appeared that detainees at the prison were exchanging messages by making notes in the texts.

A delegation of Afghan religious leaders, MPs and government representatives visited Bagram as part of the investigation. They issued a statement late yesterday calling for an end to protests and accused insurgents of infiltrating the gatherings to foment violence. They said they expected those responsible for the Koran burning to be prosecuted through the US military court system.