Muslim demonstrators burn a Norweigian flag in the
West Bank town of Nablus where Muslims during a protest against the countries
who published cartoons representing the Prophet Mohammed. -- AFP
Hundreds of Syrian demonstrators stormed and set fire to the Danish Embassy
in Damascus on Saturday in a protest against cartoons depicting the Prophet
Mohammad which were first published by a Danish newspaper.
Saturday's demonstration in front of the Danish Embassy in downtown Damascus
went on peacefully at first, but angry protestors later stormed the embassy
building and set it on fire, said witnesses.
The protestors chanted "God is
Great" and burned the Danish flag and replaced it with another flag reading "No
God but Allah, Mohammad is His Prophet.
Fire engines and riot police rushed to the embassy building, in front of
which gathered hundreds of passers-by after the protestors receded, said a
Xinhua correspondent at the scene.
The facade of the building, which also houses the Swedish and Chilean
missions, were tarred and the first floor, where the Danish Embassy is located,
was destroyed and fumes can still be seen coming from the ruins, the
correspondent added.
It was not immediately clear whether any casualties were caused, but the
Danish Embassy was closed on Saturday.
Security measures were stepped up at foreign missions in Damascus and more
riot police, wearing white helmets and holding shields, surrounded the U.S.
embassy, only several kilometers away from the Danish mission.
Some demonstrators marched in the main Mezza street, causing a traffic jam
there. They then pushed forward into the wealthy Eastern Mezza Area, where
resided many western missions.
Earlier this week, the Danish Embassy was reportedly evacuated from an
anonymous telephone bomb threat.
Embassy personnel returned to the building after an hour-long search by
security forces who failed to find any explosive device.
The cartoons were first published by the Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten,
last September and republished in Norway last month and then in some other
European newspapers.
One of the cartoons depicts the prophet wearing a turban shaped like a
bomb.
Damascus has recalled its ambassador from Denmark for consultation over the
matter, the official SANA news agency reported on Wednesday.
Earlier this week, the Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned the cartoons as an
offense to Muslims and Arabs and demanded the Danish government punish the
offending paper.
The Danish ambassador to Syria met late Thursday with Syria's grand mufti
Sheikh Ahmed Badr al-Dean Hassoun and conveyed Denmark's apology for the offense
caused by the cartoons.
SANA quoted the Danish ambassador as saying that the majority of the Danes
were very sorry for this situation which the newspaper has put them into.
According to Islamic tradition, realistic depict ions of prophets were
prohibited and caricatures of them were considered profane.