Friday 15 February 2013

US pulls embassy staff amid al-Qaida calls for violence

The U.S. has ordered the departure of all non-essential personnel and the families of diplomats from its embassies in Sudan and Tunisia.
The State Department order Saturday also warned U.S. citizens against travel to the two countries because of concerns about rising anti-American violence.
A U.S. made, anti-Muslim film prompted a wave of protests and violence last week across the Middle East and other regions.
The man allegedly behind the private film was questioned Saturday by U.S. authorities in California.
Some parts of the Muslim world returned to calm Saturday following violence that began Tuesday when U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens was killed along with three other Americans. Several demonstrators have died since then.
Al-Qaida’s branch in Yemen has called for more violence against American embassies after days of deadly protests against the film.
Sudanese police patrolled the streets of Khartoum Saturday, a day after protesters attacked the British, German and U.S. embassies.
Sudan’s foreign minister, Ali Karti, has rejected a U.S. request to send Marines to the capital to protect the embassy.
Tunisia’s Foreign Ministry has condemned the violence and says it is committed to protecting all embassies and diplomatic missions.
Egyptian workers spent Saturday cleaning up Cairo’s Tahrir Square after a night of fighting between police and demonstrators that left one person dead.
Other countries that had seen days of protests, including Tunisia and Yemen, were also quieter Saturday. But new protests erupted in Afghanistan, India, Indonesia and Sydney, Australia.

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