Protests spread across the Middle East and North Africa on Thursday, most of them directed at American Embassies and offices linked to United States diplomatic activities, as anger mounted over a video denigrating the Prophet Muhammad.
As our colleagues, Nasser Arrabyee and Alan Cowell report, protesters attacked the American Embassy in Yemen and scuffled with the police for the third straight day at the American Embassy in Cairo.
In Yemen, protesters set vehicles at the embassy on fire and tore down an American flag.
#Yemen | Photo : American flag at US Embassy #Sanaa replaced : “There is no god but Allah & Muhammad is His Messenger.†http://t.co/aMn07UFl
- Haykal Bafana (@BaFana3) 13 Sep 12
The state news agency in Egypt reported multiple injuries among protesters in Cairo, where the Egyptian police fired tear gas.
Tear gas canisters reaching into Tahrir square. A couple hundred protesters http://t.co/6IrzQKLK
- Sharif Kouddous (@sharifkouddous) 13 Sep 12
Two days after assailants killed four Americans in Libya, including the ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, protests were also reported at American missions in Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia, where the police fired tear gas to disperse crowds.
Reuters reports that 200 protesters gathered outside the American Embassy in Tunisia.
In Morocco, protesters gathered in Casablanca to demonstrate against the contentious anti-Islamic video that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton described as “disgusting and reprehensible.â€
A militant Shiite group in Iraq, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, once known for its violent attacks on Americans and other Westerners, reportedly said the anti-Islamic video would “put all American interests in danger.â€
In Iran, protesters converged at the Swiss Embassy, where the United States has an interests section. (Washington does not have formal diplomatic ties with Tehran.) The Fars News Agency said that demonstrators burned a United States flag.
The turmoil is likely to spill into Friday after the main communal prayers in the afternoon. Yassin Musharbash, a writer who monitors forums where statements are posted by militant groups, wrote on his Twitter feed @abususu, that Jordanian Salafists were calling for protests after Friday Prayer.
scan of #jihadist forums sugges ts more protests over #innocenceofmuslims movie to be expected tomorrow before/during/after prayer.
- yassin musharbash (@abususu) 13 Sep 12
Police and protesters clashed in Cairo as can be seen in dozens of photos shot in Tahrir Square and uploaded to Flickr by Mosa'ab Elshamy.
On Twitter, Mika Minio-Paluelo shared several images from Tahrir Square.
Burnt out police pick-up truck from last night is now a roadblock behind the mugamma. #egypt #usembassy http://t.co/UdvSbhUx
- Mika Minio-Paluello (@mikaminio) 13 Sep 12
As protests filled Cairo's streets, Egyptians were talking on Twitter about an online confrontation between those posting for the official account of the Muslim Brotherhood and the American Embassy there.
In a message to the United States Embassy, IkhwanWeb, which uses the handle @ikhwanweb, expressed its relief that embassy staff members were not harmed.
In response, a post on the American Embassy's official account thanked them for their well-wishes, but expressed dissatisfaction with what the Brotherhood had been writing on its social media sites in Arabic. The embassy account did not provide details.
Love this one a twitter diplomatic showdown http://t.co/6PZxEMig
- Sherif Taher (@Sherif_M_Taher) 13 Sep 12
The exchange unfolded over Wednesday and Thursday, and continued until the Brotherhood asked the embassy for clarification of its specific concerns.
.@usembassycairo we understand you're under a lot of stress, but it will be more helpful if you point out exactly the Arabic feed of concern
- Ikhwanweb (@Ikhwanweb) 13 Sep 12
The American Embassy did not respond on Twitter, but The Egypt Independent offered some clues, noting that Brotherhood had expressed its support in Arabic for the protests and called for more.
