Afghans’ protest after NATO troops burned the Qur’an.
They had done it again! This is not the first time western nations have burned - or attempted to burn - the Qur’an, and it won’t be the last (see my post here). Knowing how weak Muslim nations are now, they have done them with impunity without any care toward the sensitivities of the Muslims. The American commander in Afghanistan has apologised but, being aware of the sanctity of Qur’an to the Muslims, such apology is hollow.
Furious protesters firing petrol bombs and slingshots have besieged the largest US-run military base in Afghanistan after reports that Nato troops had set fire to copies of the Koran.
The enraged crowd shouted "Death to Americans" and "Death to infidels" at guards at Bagram airbase, north of Kabul. The guards responded by firing rubber bullets on the crowd, said an AFP photographer, who was hit in the neck.
US helicopters fired flares to try to break up as many as 2,000 demonstrators who massed outside several gates to the base.
Hundreds of other people protested in the Afghan capital as security forces dispatched reinforcements in a bid to stop the demonstrations from spiralling out of control in the fiercely conservative Islamic country.
The US commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, apologised and ordered an investigation into a report that troops "improperly disposed of a large number of Islamic religious materials which included Korans".
"I offer my sincere apologies for any offence this may have caused, to the president of Afghanistan, the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and most importantly, to the noble people of Afghanistan," he said.
Gen Allen's remarkably candid statement, apparently aimed at damage limitation after similar incidents led to violence and attacks on foreigners, was played repeatedly on Afghan television.
Allegations that Nato troops at Bagram had set fire to copies of the Muslim holy book were first reported by Afghans working at the base, a senior government official said.
Ahmad Zaki Zahed, chief of the provincial council, said US military officials took him to a burn pit on the base where 60 to 70 books, including Korans, were recovered. The books were used by detainees once incarcerated at the base, he said.
"Some were all burned. Some were half-burned," Zahed said, adding that he did not know exactly how many Korans had been burned.
A local police official said more than 2,000 people were demonstrating outside the sprawling US-run Bagram base at one stage.
The AFP photographer saw at least seven other protesters hit by rubber bullets, some of them bleeding.
Allegations that Nato troops at Bagram had set fire to copies of the Muslim holy book were first reported by Afghans working at the base, a senior government official said.
Ahmad Zaki Zahed, chief of the provincial council, said US military officials took him to a burn pit on the base where 60 to 70 books, including Korans, were recovered. The books were used by detainees once incarcerated at the base, he said.
"Some were all burned. Some were half-burned," Zahed said, adding that he did not know exactly how many Korans had been burned.
A local police official said more than 2,000 people were demonstrating outside the sprawling US-run Bagram base at one stage.
The AFP photographer saw at least seven other protesters hit by rubber bullets, some of them bleeding…
A demonstrator holds a copy of a half-burnt Koran at the gate of Bagram airbase (AFP/GETTY)
US+NATO ni sengaja menaikkan kemarahan org Aghan ... supaya bila org Afghan ni merusuh dan cuba membunuh tentera US+NATO ... akan dijadikan alasan agar US+NATO terus berada dibumi Afghan.
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