Cartoons: Lebanon says sorry for Denmark riot

Lebanon apologised to Denmark today for the burning of its consulate during a protest over cartoons of Prophet Mohammad, and some Lebanese p...

Lebanon apologised to Denmark today for the burning of its consulate during a protest over cartoons of Prophet Mohammad, and some Lebanese politicians accused Syria of using the furore to stir sectarian tension.

“The cabinet denounces the riots and the targeting of the Danish Embassy which harms the image of a civilised Lebanon,” the government said in a statement after a late-night emergency meeting. “(We) present our apology to the state of Denmark.”

Security sources said over 300 people had now been arrested, more than half of them Syrians and Palestinians. Security forces used tear gas and water cannons on Sunday to try to disperse about 20,000 demonstrators, who in turn damaged police and Army vehicles and three fire engines.

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One protester died after jumping from the third floor of the consulate building. Police said 33 people, including 21 security men, were wounded. Lebanon’s Interior Minister Hassan al Sabaa, a Sunni Muslim, resigned on Sunday after thousands of angry Muslim protesters torched the Danish consulate in Beirut.

A statement issued by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Sunday said, “He wishes to emphasise that such resentment cannot justify violence, least of all when directed at people who have no responsibility for, or control over, the publications in question.”

Meanwhile, Palestinian demonstrators hurled stones at EU offices in the Gaza Strip on Monday and pulled down the EU flag in protest over the caricatures. The crowd chanted: “Down with Denmark. Down with Norway. With our blood we will redeem our Prophet.”

In another incident a boy was crush to death by stampeding Muslim prostesters in Somalia on Monday.

Worldwide, protests spill out on the streets

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• KABUL: At least four demonstrators were shot dead and 19 others, including two police officials, were injured in the Afghan city of Mihtarlam when police fired on 2,000 demonstrators, said an Interior Ministry spokesman. Earlier, the protesters had tried and failed to break down the gate of the Danish government’s diplomatic mission. Police there said the protesters beat some of the police guarding it and security guards at a house used by Belgian diplomats.

• Jakarta: About 300 people protested outside the building housing the Danish Embassy, which was guarded by a cordon of security forces. “The cartoons were meant to insult us,” said Hendri Novrizal, one of the demonstrators. “We wouldn’t insult Jesus or the Buddha because such an act would cause tension among believers.”

• Bangkok: About 400 members of Thailand’s Muslim minority shouted “God is Great” outside Denmark’s Embass.

• Kuala lampur: An editor of a newspaper that ran one of drawings to accompany an article about the lack of impact of the controversy inside the country resigned, according to a statement seen Monday. —Associated Press