Thursday, September 13, 2012

Yemeni protesters storm US embassy, police fire warning shots to disperse crowd

Sanaa: Yemeni protesters, angry over a film mocking Islam, on Thursday stormed the complex of the US embassy in Sanaa, defying efforts by riot police to hold them at bay, an AFP correspondent said.

Protesters torched a number of diplomatic vehicle as security forces used water cannons and warning shots in a bid to drive them out.

Police had earlier fired warning shots to disperse few thousands of protesters as they approached the main gate of the mission.

"O, Allah's messenger... O, Mohammed," protesters chanted.

The attack comes two days after four Americans including the ambassador were killed when a Libyan mob attacked the US consulate in Benghazi, and protesters in Cairo tore down the Stars and Stripes and replaced it with a black Islamic flag.

The low-budget movie, "Innocence of Muslims" in which actors have strong American accents, portrays Muslims as immoral and gratuitously violent.

It pokes fun at the Prophet Mohammed and touches on themes of paedophilia and homosexuality, while showing him sleeping with women, talking about killing children and referring to a donkey as "the first Muslim animal."