| Anti-Islam film protests: US orders staff to leave Sudan, Tunisia |
| Posted on 16-09-2012 | 07:39:37 IST | DY365 Bureau |
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Washington/Khartoum: Post-attacks on US embassies in the wake of anti-Islam film protests, US has ordered its staff and citizens to leave Tunisia and Libya, as per reports. The orders were issued after angry protestors attacked the US embassies in Tunis and Khartoum after an anti-Islam film - "Innocence of Muslims" - depicting Prophet Muhammad as a fraud and womanizer created furore. Muslims across the world staged anti-US protests on Friday with incidents of violence in Tunisian and Sudanese US embassies being reported. Fearing for the safety of its embassy staff after the attacks, US requested Sudan government for permission to send 50 marines for the security of its embassy in Khartoum. However, Sudan declined the request stating that the country’s forces were capable of providing security. In the spate of attacks that took place over the anti-Islam film, US embassy was attacked in Khartoum was attacked on Friday in which three people were killed while two were reportedly killed in Tunisia. An American fast-food restaurant was set on fire in Lebanon and international peacekeepers were also attacked in the Sinai. The United Nations Security Council released a press statement condemning "in the strongest terms" the violence, saying "the very nature of diplomatic premises is peaceful and ... diplomats have among their core functions the promotion of better understanding across countries and cultures." Condemning the attacks on US embassies, President Barack Obama warned that his administration will "never tolerate" attack on US citizens and assured his fellow countrymen that those who attack Americans will find no escape from justice. On Sunday, Al Qaeda's most active branch in the Middle East has called for more attacks on US embassies to "set the fires blazing," seeking to co-opt outrage over an anti-Muslim film even as the wave of protests that swept 20 countries this week eased. |
