At Least 12 Killed During Koran-Burning Protest at UN Office in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan — Demonstrators incensed at the burning of a Koran by a Florida pastor opened fire on a United Nations office Friday in northern Afghanistan, killing 12 people, including three foreign UN workers and five Nepalese UN guards, officials said.
Two of the foreign dead reportedly were beheaded, Reuters reported.
The other four dead were protesters, the Associated Press reported.
“We can confirm an attack on the UN mission in Afghanistan’s operations center in Mazar-i-Sharif, and can confirm that there have been deaths of UN personnel,” deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said at UN headquarters in New York. “The situation is still confusing and we are working to ascertain all the facts and take care of all our staff.”
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s special representative in Afghanistan, Staffan De Mistura, was “on his way to Mazar-i-Sharif now to deal with the situation personally on the ground,” AFP reported.
April 1: Afghans carry a man who was wounded following an attack on UN’s office during a demonstration to condemn the burning of a copy of the Muslim holy book by a Florida pastor, in Mazar-i- Sharif north of Kabul, Afghanistan. An Afghan official says seven people have been killed at a U.N. office in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif when a Koran-burning protest turned violent. (AP)
April 1: Afghans carry a man who was wounded following an attack on UN’s office during a demonstration to condemn the burning of a copy of the Muslim holy book by a Florida pastor, in Mazar-i- Sharif north of Kabul, Afghanistan. An Afghan official says seven people have been killed at a U.N. office in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif when a Koran-burning protest turned violent. (AP)
The rampage began when demonstrators marched in Mazar-i-Sharif and in the capital Kabul on Friday to protest the burning last month of Islam’s holy book by Florida pastors Terry Jones and Wayne Sapp. Jones reportedly put the Koran “trial,” then supervised Sapp as he burned the book.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the burning, and called on the U.S. to bring those responsible to justice.
Jones captured headlines last September when he threatened to burn the Koran on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. Jones canceled the burning after appeals from several world leaders, including President Obama.
Jones, meanwhile, issued a statement Friday, calling on President Obama to “take a close, realistic look at the radical element Islam… It is time that we call these people to accountability.”
Last month’s Koran burning also was blamed for an attack earlier this week on a Catholic church in Pakistan. Government officials said the attack was directly related to the Koran burning, but Msgr. Anthony Rufin, bishop of Islamabad, would not link the two incidents.
Related Articles
- Eight killed in Afghan demonstration after U.S. preacher burns Koran (theglobeandmail.com)
- Eight foreigners killed in Afghan Koran protest (independent.co.uk)
- Florida Pastor Presides Over Koran Burning (outsidethebeltway.com)
- Two UN staff beheaded and eight others murdered in protest against U.S. pastor who burnt Koran (dailymail.co.uk)
- Afghan mob storms UN office, kills 8, beheads 2 (calgaryherald.com)
- Afghan mob storms UN office, kills 8, beheads 2 (theprovince.com)
- Deadly Afghan protest over Koran (bbc.co.uk)
- Afghan Mob Kills 10 UN Workers To Protest Koran Burning By Florida Pastor (businessinsider.com)
- U.N. Workers Killed in Quran Protests (online.wsj.com)
- Fifteen people who would still be alive if it weren’t for religion (whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com)
- UN Workers ‘Beheaded’ In Afghan Koran Protest (news.sky.com)
Christians will now be in danger World Wide.
This So called Pastor Jones is as Loony as the Iranian President, and should be locked up in mental Hospital.
Anthony I wrote this blog last September knowing that this kind of action would lead to a war against all Christians worldwide.
At Least 12 Killed During Koran-Burning Protest at UN Office in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan — Demonstrators incensed at the burning of a Koran by a Florida pastor opened fire on a United Nations office Friday in northern Afghanistan, killing 12 people, including three foreign UN workers and five Nepalese UN guards, officials said.
Two of the foreign dead reportedly were beheaded, Reuters reported.
The other four dead were protesters, the Associated Press reported.
“We can confirm an attack on the UN mission in Afghanistan’s operations center in Mazar-i-Sharif, and can confirm that there have been deaths of UN personnel,” deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said at UN headquarters in New York. “The situation is still confusing and we are working to ascertain all the facts and take care of all our staff.”
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s special representative in Afghanistan, Staffan De Mistura, was “on his way to Mazar-i-Sharif now to deal with the situation personally on the ground,” AFP reported.
April 1: Afghans carry a man who was wounded following an attack on UN’s office during a demonstration to condemn the burning of a copy of the Muslim holy book by a Florida pastor, in Mazar-i- Sharif north of Kabul, Afghanistan. An Afghan official says seven people have been killed at a U.N. office in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif when a Koran-burning protest turned violent. (AP)
April 1: Afghans carry a man who was wounded following an attack on UN’s office during a demonstration to condemn the burning of a copy of the Muslim holy book by a Florida pastor, in Mazar-i- Sharif north of Kabul, Afghanistan. An Afghan official says seven people have been killed at a U.N. office in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif when a Koran-burning protest turned violent. (AP)
The rampage began when demonstrators marched in Mazar-i-Sharif and in the capital Kabul on Friday to protest the burning last month of Islam’s holy book by Florida pastors Terry Jones and Wayne Sapp. Jones reportedly put the Koran “trial,” then supervised Sapp as he burned the book.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the burning, and called on the U.S. to bring those responsible to justice.
Jones captured headlines last September when he threatened to burn the Koran on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. Jones canceled the burning after appeals from several world leaders, including President Obama.
Jones, meanwhile, issued a statement Friday, calling on President Obama to “take a close, realistic look at the radical element Islam… It is time that we call these people to accountability.”
Last month’s Koran burning also was blamed for an attack earlier this week on a Catholic church in Pakistan. Government officials said the attack was directly related to the Koran burning, but Msgr. Anthony Rufin, bishop of Islamabad, would not link the two incidents.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/04/01/seven-killed-koran-burning-protest-headquarters-afghanistan/#ixzz1IIMiAIg5
On September 8th 2010 Sarah Palin issued this warning to the Florida Pastor:
Koran Burning Is Insensitive, Unnecessary; Pastor Jones, Please Stand Down
by Sarah Palin on Wednesday, September 8, 2010 at 5:13pm
Book burning is antithetical to American ideals. People have a constitutional right to burn a Koran if they want to, but doing so is insensitive and an unnecessary provocation – much like building a mosque at Ground Zero.
I would hope that Pastor Terry Jones and his supporters will consider the ramifications of their planned book-burning event. It will feed the fire of caustic rhetoric and appear as nothing more than mean-spirited religious intolerance. Don’t feed that fire. If your ultimate point is to prove that the Christian teachings of mercy, justice, freedom, and equality provide the foundation on which our country stands, then your tactic to prove this point is totally counter-productive.
Our nation was founded in part by those fleeing religious persecution. Freedom of religion is integral to our charters of liberty. We don’t need to agree with each other on theological matters, but tolerating each other without unnecessarily provoking strife is how we ensure a civil society. In this as in all things, we should remember the Golden Rule. Isn’t that what the Ground Zero mosque debate has been about?
- Sarah Palin
Not only our Troops but Christian all over the world will now be in much greater danger because of this Hateful Pastor Jones from Florida
Like we need to encourage more violence against us, as Christians. what a jackass.
Good Evening Roxanna, this was a huge topic last September and I can’t believe that Pastor went ahead and did something like this. They are now saying over 20 people were killed by outraged Muslims.
Two Beheaded: Florida Koran Burning Triggers Massacre at UN Office in Afghanistan
The Globe and Mail reports:
Afghan protesters angered by the burning of a Koran by an obscure U.S. pastor killed up to 20 UN staff, beheading two foreigners, when they overran a compound in a normally peaceful northern city on Friday in the worst-ever attack on the UN in Afghanistan.
At least eight foreigners were among the dead after attackers took out security guards, burned parts of the compound and climbed up blast walls to topple a guard tower, said Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai, a police spokesman for the northern region.
According to the AP, one protester held a sign that said, “We want these bloody bastard Americans with all their forces to leave Afghanistan.”
The Afghanis were angry that a Gainesville, Florida church burned a Koran on March 20.
According to the AP:
The Gainesville, Florida church’s website stated that after a five-hour trial on March 20, the Quran “was found guilty and a copy was burned inside the building.” A picture on the website shows a book in flames in a small portable fire pit. The church on Friday confirmed that the Quran had been burned.
In a statement, Jones did not comment on whether his act had lead to the deaths. Instead he said it was time to “hold Islam accountable” and called on the United States and the U.N. to hold “these countries and people accountable for what they have done as well as for any excuses they may use to promote their terrorist activities.”
The AP reports that at least 12 foreigners were killed as a result of the protest in Afghanistan:
Thousands of protesters angry over the burning of a Quran by a Florida pastor stormed a U.N. compound Friday in northern Afghanistan, killing at least 12 people, including eight foreigners. The desecration of the Muslim holy book fueled resentment against the West at a critical moment in the Afghan war.
The demonstration in Mazar-i-Sharif turned violent when some protesters grabbed weapons from the U.N. guards and opened fire, then mobbed buildings and set fires on the compound, officials said. Demonstrators also massed in Kabul and the western city of Herat.
The topic of Quran burning stirred outrage among millions of Muslims and others worldwide after the Rev. Terry Jones’ small church, Dove Outreach Center, threatened to destroy a copy of the holy book last year. The Florida pastor had backed down but the church went through with the burning last month.
The AP also observes that last week, Afghan President Hamid Karzai issued a statement calling the burning a “crime against a religion.” He said it was a “disrespectful and abhorrent act” and called on the U.S. and the UN to bring the Koran-burners to justice.
This statement no doubt inflamed the Afghan protesters.
The AP notes that there was more than one protest in Afghanistan:
Several hundred people also protested the Quran burning at several sites in Herat, a city in western Afghanistan. Protesters burned a U.S. flag at a sports stadium in Herat and chanted “Death to the U.S.“ and ”They broke the heart of Islam.”
About 100 people also gathered at a traffic circle near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. Police directed traffic around the demonstration in the capital. One protester carried a sign that said: “We want these bloody bastard Americans with all their forces to leave Afghanistan.”
In a statement, the Florida church’s pastor, Terry Jones, wasn’t apologetic for the Koran-burning incident that occurred at his church:
We… find this a very tragic and criminal action. The United States government and the United Nations itself, must take immediate action. We must hold these countries and people accountable for what they have done as well as for any excuses they may use to promote their terrorist activities.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/two-beheaded-florida-quran-burning-triggers-massacre-at-un-office-in-afghanistan/
Good Morning to all my favorite Village Patriots and Friends
NATO Repels Surge on Afghan Base as Man Suspected in Deadly Attack on U.N. Office
Three insurgents attacked a NATO base on the perimeter of Afghanistan’s capital Saturday but were killed by coalition forces before they could enter the compound in an attack that came hours after protesters stormed a United Nations Agency and killed at least 11, including seven foreigners.
NATO and Afghan police told The Associated Press in an email that three of its soldiers were wounded in Saturday’s attack against Camp Phoenix, but that their injuries were not serious
There were reports of three attackers involved, according to Kabul Police chief Gen. Mohammad Ayub Salangi. He said two of them died when their vests detonated, a third was shot and at least one attacker was possibly wearing a suicide vest.
The base’s gate had scorch marks on it, and an AP reporter at the scene saw some of the remains of at least one body belonging to a man who had blown himself up dangling from the gate.
Camp Phoenix is a base on the eastern edge of Kabul used mostly by American forces to help train the Afghan army and police.
April 1: Afghans carry a man who was wounded following an attack on UN’s office during a demonstration to condemn the burning of a copy of the Muslim holy book by a Florida pastor, in Mazar-i- Sharif north of Kabul, Afghanistan. An Afghan official says seven people have been killed at a U.N. office in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif when a Koran-burning protest turned violent. (AP)
April 1: Afghans carry a man who was wounded following an attack on UN’s office during a demonstration to condemn the burning of a copy of the Muslim holy book by a Florida pastor, in Mazar-i- Sharif north of Kabul, Afghanistan. An Afghan official says seven people have been killed at a U.N. office in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif when a Koran-burning protest turned violent. (AP)
An Afghan insurgent from one of the country’s hotbeds of militancy is thought to be the ringleader of a bloody attack Friday on a United Nations compound as hundreds protested the purported burning of a Koran by a Florida pastor.
At least 11 people, including seven foreigners, were killed in the storming of the U.N. compound in the northern Afghanistan city of Mazar-i-Sharif. Two of the foreigners were beheaded, Reuters reported.
At least five Afghan civilians have been killed in the attack, according to Zalmai Ayubi, spokesman for the provincial governor of Kandahar. He said 46 others were wounded when the crowd of hundreds of protesters turned violent on Saturday and tried to burn some vehicles and shops.
It’s unclear who killed and injured the protesters, but some were shot.
The demonstration in Mazar-i-Sharif turned violent when some protesters grabbed weapons from the U.N. guards and opened fire, then mobbed buildings and set fires on the compound, officials said. Demonstrators also massed in Kabul and the western city of Herat for peaceful demonstrations.
Afghan authorities announced the arrest of more than 20 people, including a militant from Kapisa province who they suspect was the ringleader of the assault, said Rawof Taj, deputy provincial police chief. Futher information about the suspects wasn’t immediately available.
The topic of Koran burning stirred outrage among millions of Muslims and others worldwide after the Rev. Terry Jones’ small church, Dove Outreach Center, threatened to destroy a copy of the holy book last September. The Florida pastor had backed down but the church claimed that it went through with the burning last month.
The protest began peacefully at the U.N. compound in in Mazar-i-Sharif, choosing an obvious symbol of the international community’s involvement in Afghanistan to denounce the Koran’s destruction. Mazar-i-Sharif also is on a list of the first seven areas of the country where Afghan security forces are slated to take over from the U.S.-led coalition starting in July.
Gen. Daud Daud, commander of Afghan National Police in several northern provinces, said those killed included four Nepalese guards who were working for the U.N. and two other foreigners employed at the complex. One other foreigner was wounded and died later. The nationalities of the other three foreigners was not known.
Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary said four protesters also were killed and nearly two dozen civilians were wounded.
U.N. peacekeeping chief Alain LeRoy said the top U.N. envoy in Afghanistan, Staffan De Mistura, who is in Mazar-i-Sharif, believes “the U.N. was not the target.”
“They wanted to find an international target and the U.N. was the one there in Mazar-i-Sharif,” LeRoy told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is in Nairobi, said it was “a cowardly attack that cannot be justified under any circumstances.”
President Obama strongly condemned the attack and stressed the importance of work of the U.N. staff in Afghanistan.
“Their work is essential to building a stronger Afghanistan for the benefit of all its citizens. We stress the importance of calm and urge all parties to reject violence and resolve differences through dialogue,” Obama said.
At the U.S. State Department, spokesman Mark Toner said the burning of a Quran in Florida was contrary to Americans’ respect for Islam and religious tolerance. “This is an isolated act done by a small group of people and … does not reflect the respect the people of the United States have toward Islam,” he said.
Mohammad Azim, a businessman in Mazer-i-Sharif, said that clerics with loudspeakers drove around the city in two cars on Thursday to invite residents to the protest. After Friday prayers at a large blue mosque in the city center, clerics again called on worshippers to attend a peaceful protest.
When Abdul Karim, a police officer in Mazar-i-Sharif, went inside the compound to investigate, he saw the bullet-riddled bodies of three Nepalese guards lying in the yard, and a fourth on the first floor.
He said another victim with a fatal head wound died on a stairway to the basement of the compound, which was littered with broken glass and bullet casings. A man who was killed inside a room had wounds to his face and body, Karim said.
Several hundred people also protested the Koran burning at several sites in Herat, a city in western Afghanistan. Protesters burned a U.S. flag at a sports stadium in Herat and chanted “Death to the U.S.” and “They broke the heart of Islam.”
About 100 people also gathered at a traffic circle near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.
The Gainesville, Florida church’s website stated that after a five-hour trial on March 20, the Koran “was found guilty and a copy was burned inside the building.” A picture on the website shows a book in flames in a small portable fire pit. The church on Friday repeated its claim that a Koran had been burned.
In a statement, Jones did not comment on whether his act had lead to the deaths. Instead he said it was time to “hold Islam accountable” and called on the United States and the UN to hold “these countries and people accountable for what they have done as well as for any excuses they may use to promote their terrorist activities.”
Last week, Afghan President Hamid Karzai issued a statement calling the burning a “crime against a religion.” He denounced the U.N. attack as a “disrespectful and abhorrent act” and called on the U.S. and the United Nations to bring to justice those who burned the holy book.
Karzai issued a statement late Friday calling the killings an “inhumane act” that was “against the values of Islam and Afghans.” He said he planned to call officials at U.N. headquarters to express his regret and condolences from the people of Afghanistan.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/04/01/seven-killed-koran-burning-protest-headquarters-afghanistan/#ixzz1IMB6eUFs
6 dead in Afghanistan after report of U.S. Quran burning
By the CNN Wire Staff
Check out CNN.com’s Afghanistan Crossroads blog for the latest developments, and the Belief Blog for a timeline of Terry Jones.
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) — Six people were killed and 46 were injured when a protest over a Quran burning at a U.S. church turned violent in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province Saturday morning, a provincial spokesman said.
“More than 100 people were participated in this demonstration and the protesters were also condemning burning of Quran and chanting death to U.S. pastor,” said Zalmai Ayoubi, spokesman for the governor of Kandahar province.
The demonstration started peacefully, but protesters turned violent, setting fire to a school and vehicles in Kandahar city, Ayoubi said.
Pastor Terry Jones sparked international controversy last year when his Gainesville, Florida, church planned “International Burn a Quran Day” on the ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Jones’ church did not host a Quran burning on that day, but the Dove World Outreach Center’s website announced an “International Judge the Koran Day” set for last month.
Another post on the site’s blog showed an image of a burning book and read, “The event is over, the Koran was found guilty and a copy was burned inside the building.”
On Friday, 12 people were killed in an attack on a U.N. compound in northern Afghanistan that followed a demonstration against the burning of the Quran.
The fatalities comprised seven U.N. workers and five demonstrators, officials said.
Another 24 people were wounded, said Abdul Rauof Taj, security director of Balkh province.
Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai, a spokesman for the police in Mazar-e-Sharif, told reporters that a number of suspects “who might be the main organizers” had been arrested.
U.N. Peacekeeping Director Alain Le Roy said the seven U.N. fatalities were international staffers — three civilians and four international security guards. No Afghan U.N. staff members were among the dead, he said.
“I understand there were hundreds, if not thousands, of demonstrators. Some of them were clearly armed and they stormed into the building,” Le Roy said.
He said the security guards tried their best to halt the demonstrators’ advance, but were overwhelmed.
Le Roy said it was not clear that the United Nations was the target. “It happened to be the U.N. because the U.N. is on the ground.”
Five demonstrators were killed in the violence; one person’s throat was cut, he said.
A U.N .source said the dead included four Nepalese security guards as well as U.N. workers from Norway, Sweden and Romania. The source said the attack followed a demonstration against the reported burning of the Quran.
The U.N. Security Council met Friday and issued a statement condemning the attack, which occurred at the operations center of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
Haji Sakhi Mohammad, a businessman in Mazar-e-Sharif, said that the incident began after Friday prayers, when many people joined a protest against the burning of the Quran. People calling “Death to America” marched to the U.N. compound and broke in, he said. Gunfire broke out, and “I saw protesters shot to death,” he said
A student in Mazar-e-Sharif said he and his friends joined the protesters, who numbered in the hundreds. “When we reached the UNAMA office, we came under gunfire by Afghan security guards. Protesters became angry and stormed the building.”
The student said some of the protesters found several loaded AK-47s and used them to kill security guards and other people inside the building.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/04/02/afghanistan.pastor.protest/index.html?hpt=T2
Pingback: Village of the Banned Resource Center Presents: Fact Checking Barack Obama with 358 Links | Village of the Banned
Pingback: Village of the Banned Resource Center Presents: Fact Checking Barack Obama with 358 Links | Village of the Banned