UN workers beheaded; riot in Afgahanistan response to Qur'an burning by pastor

[Lisa]

 Afghanistan: United Nations mission rocked by mob killingsDeath toll unconfirmed after protesters storm Mazar-e-Sharif compound in response to Qur'an burning by US pastor
 
Share7  Jon Boone in Kabul guardian.co.uk, Friday 1 April 2011 20.20 BST Article history
Afghans carrying a man wounded in the outbreak of violence at Mazar-e-Sharif. Photograph: Mustafa Najafizada/AP
 
The United Nations mission in Afghanistan has been thrown into jeopardy after protesters enraged by the burning of the Qur'an by a Christian extremist in the US stormed a UN compound in the north of the country and killed a number of foreign staff members.

Afghan officials in the usually peaceful city of Mazar-e-Sharif gave varying accounts of what happened, with some UN officials saying the death toll could reach 20. Other reports said two UN staff members were beheaded by a mob that managed to break into the heavily defended compound.

Equally unclear were the identities of the victims, with some claiming the UN chief in the city had been killed and others saying he was wounded but survived. One police official said four of the dead were Nepali, probably former Gurkha soldiers now working as security guards, while another three were foreign diplomats.

Even if the total number of victims proves at the lower end, perhaps seven as some police sources have claimed, it will constitute the worst crisis to hit the international organisation since 2001.

Under UN rules officials will have to consider pulling out staff members or shutting down operations all together. After an attack on a UN guesthouse in 2009 killed five staff members, hundreds of workers were temporarily relocated to Dubai while the organisation spent millions closing guesthouses and outfitting a base on the outskirts of Kabul.

Staffan De Mistura, the overall head of all UN activities in the country, flew to Mazar to take stock of the disaster. One senior staff member said there had been "absolutely no discussion" of repositioning staff, but many UN workers feared the incident would mark yet another milestone in the gradual retreat of UN diplomats and aid workers into a world where they only see the inside of fortified compounds and armoured vehicles.

The violence also represents a huge setback for the country as it sets out on an ambitious programme, which many sceptics believe is unachievable, of taking full control of its own security from foreign forces by 2014. Last week Hamid Karzai, the president, announced that the commercial hub of Mazar-e-Sharif would be one of the first areas to be transferred to Afghan control this year.

Yet even in a city that has possibly the best security in the country, police were no match for the sudden outburst of violence, triggered by the activities of a fringe Christian group on the other side of the world, who burned a copy of the Qur'an in Florida on 21 March.

A previous threat by the US pastor Terry Jones last year was prevented after David Petraeus, the commander of Nato troops in Afghanistan, warned that the lives of US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan would be endangered. Although the burning went ahead with Jones in attendance more than a week ago, it was only on Friday that the matter was the subject of outraged prayers around Afghanistan.

Afterwards thousands of people poured out of Mazar's Blue Mosque after a tub-thumping sermon by the presiding mullah, with one police official estimating that there were 4,000 people on the streets of the city.

The head of the Blue Mosque, Atiqullah Ansari, said only a minority were responsible for the violence, claiming they were the followers of a mullah who served under the Taliban regime.

"They went to the UN compound and killed the foreigners. This is what they wanted," he said.

According to people in the throng some of the demonstrators had guns which they used to attack the building.

The police responded in kind, shooting live rounds into the crowd.

The city's main hospital said it had treated 20 wounded people, most with bullet wounds. Among the four dead bodies in the hospital, one appeared to be a Nepalese national.

Local television pictures showed a mob attacking the guard kiosk of the UN compound, which is surrounded by 12ft-high concrete blast walls.

The surviving UN staff were said to be shellshocked and bewildered at the failings of security that had allowed their compound to be overwhelmed.

Across the country the UN issued a "white city" order, forcing all staff members into a state of lockdown and banning them from leaving their compounds.
guardian.co.uk at 20.20 BST on Friday 1 April 2011. A version appeared on p1 of the Main section section of the Guardian on Saturday 2 April 2011.

[Lisa]

Florida pastor Terry Jones supervises Koran burning
Published: Tuesday, Mar 22, 2011, 20:50 IST
Place: Washington, DC | Agency: PTI 
 
Controversial pastor Terry Jones, oversaw the burning of the holy Koran, by an evangelical preacher pastor Wayne Sapp in a local Florida church in the US.

Jones said that "trial" of the holy Quran was held on Sunday by a jury of 12 church members and volunteers, with a Dallas Imam as a defence lawyer.

"We had a court process. We tried to set it up as fair as possible, which you can imagine, of course, is very difficult," Jones told The USA Today.

http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_florida-pastor-terry-jones-supervises-koran-burning_1522999

The punishment — burning the book after it had been soaked in kerosene for an hour — was determined from four choices on his organisation's Facebook page.

The Muslim community in the United States has declined to respond to such an act by Jones and his small group of followers.

"Terry Jones had his 15 minutes of fame and we're not going to help him get another few minutes," said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Jones, however, considered the burning of Koran as a one-time event and said that he had no plans to do it on a mass scale.


 
 

[Mark]

First i have heard of this.    and its kind of hard to sneak stuff past me.

[Lisa]

My thoughts exactly-press black out???

L

[Mark]

Up to 20 U.N. staff killed in north Afghan city

Afghan protesters angered by the burning of a Koran by an obscure U.S. pastor killed up to 20 U.N. staff, beheading two foreigners, when they over-ran a compound in a normally peaceful northern city on Friday in the worst ever attack on the U.N. 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.

Five protesters were also killed and around 20 wounded.

The governor of Balkh province said insurgents had used the march as cover to attack the compound, in a battle that raged for several hours and raises serious questions about plans to make the city a pilot for security transfer to national forces.

"The insurgents have taken advantage of the situation to attack the U.N. compound," said Governor Ata Mohammad Noor.

He told a news conference that many in the crowd of protesters had been carrying guns. Some 27 people have already been detained over the attack, he added.

rest: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/01/us-afghanistan-idUSTRE7306JP20110401?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

"Eight foreigners were killed, and two were beheaded," said Ahmadzai.

[Kilika]

Exactly, first I heard of any Koran burning. All I heard of was the threat Terry made weeks ago, but I thought that was the end of it. And now they say they burned one just last week. Apparently the Muslim community made sure it was known within Islam though.

Definately media blackout. I wonder if they did so because of the NWO-provoked unrest in the Middle East.

[Mark]

Five Die In Second Koran-Burning Protest

10:35am UK, Saturday April 02, 2011

Five people have died in protests in Kandahar against the burning of a copy of the Koran, a day after an attack prompted by the incident left at least 12 people dead, including seven UN staff.

Two thousand people took part in violent demonstrations in the southern Afghan city, denouncing the burning of a copy of the Islamic holy book by an obscure US pastor.

Five people were killed and 46 wounded in the protests, which were planned by the Taliban, according to a provinical governor spokesman.

It comes a day after protesters furious at the provocative stunt by the Florida-based clergyman stormed a UN compound in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, grabbing weapons from guards and opening fire.

Initial reports said up to 20 UN workers had been killed. Two people are said to have been beheaded.

More: http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Video-Afghanistan-UN-In-Emergency-Meeting-After-Deadly-Demo-Is-Sparked-By-Koran-Burning/Article/201104115964331

[Christian40]

Controversial pastor Terry Jones, oversaw the burning of the holy Koran, by an evangelical preacher pastor Wayne Sapp in a local Florida church in the US.

The Koran is garbage and certainly not holy. I dont blame Terry or Wayne for the actions of crazy Muslims in another country. I mean how many times has the Bible been burnt, confiscated and ignored?

[Kilika]

One might make a case that it's rendering evil for evil. Whats the point of burning one book? All that does is make people mad. Personally, I think it was a very bad idea. Let evil be evil basically, as Jesus will give them their rewards in due time.

[Mark]

Anger Over Quran Burning Spreads in Afghanistan


Anger over the burning of the Muslim holy book at a Florida church fueled a second day of deadly violence half a world away in Afghanistan, where demonstrators set cars and shops ablaze Saturday in a riot that killed nine protesters, officials said.

The church's desecration of the Quran nearly two weeks ago has outraged millions of Muslims and others worldwide, fueling anti-American sentiment that is further straining ties between the Afghan government and the West.

The uproar even brought violence to the normally peaceful northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif on Friday, when a crowd of protesters - apparently infiltrated by insurgents - stormed a U.N. compound in an outpouring that left four Afghan protesters and seven foreign U.N. employees dead.

[Mark]

Must be OK when Saudi's burn Korans...

[Kilika]

Can Satan cast out Satan?

[Mark]

’400 Death Threats’ Follow Koran-Burning Preacher

But Saudis are free and clear... 

A Florida pastor blamed for inciting unrest in Afghanistan by burning a Koran was in town on Wednesday to appear on Truth TV, an Arabic language Christian network.

Rev. Terry Jones told reporters he had no plans to burn any more Korans upon his arrival at LAX on Tuesday night, but that he may hold another mock trial for the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

“We’ve had about 400 death threats,” he said, adding that Hezbolla, the Shia Muslim militant group, had put out a “reward out on my head for $2.4 million.”

Santa Ana police say they were warned that Jones was in town.

It was unclear if he has scheduled any public appearances.

Jones of Gainesville, Fla., said he planned to go to Dearborn, Mich., for a demonstration outside the nation’s largest mosque.

He has been widely criticized for burning a Koran following a mock trial March 20 at his church, saying he did it to draw attention to radical Islam.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the act. About 20 people, including seven United Nations workers, have been killed in rioting in Afghanistan.

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/04/06/400-death-threats-follow-koran-burning-preacher-to-oc/

[Kilika]

Two words: Salman Rushdie

[Christian40]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrZpIKUKIAs&feature=related

The US Military Burns Bibles But Says It's Wrong To Burn The Koran.

[Kilika]

At about the 1:15 mark, they are suggesting the image is of burning bibles with a question of "Photo Of Bible Burning?", but the image is showing the burning of a body, though there may be some other material in the fire, that's a dead body burning, and it doesnt' look right at that. The soldiers to the background look out of proportion to the fire as though theres some photo retouching going on. Call me a sceptic, but that image looks fake, or at least "photoshopped".

Got some history or something on that video, as in who did it or where it came from?

Sorry, while I understand the point, I have issues with that video being less than honest, or at least it comes across as propaganda or biased rumor. Alledging something without proof is deceptive. The enemy does that kind of tactics.

[Christian40]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL0XgbSUubI&feature=share

This is a video from May 20, 2009

[Mark]

1st Quran,
now this?
Controversial pastor reveals plans
if Muhammad found 'guilty' next

The Florida pastor whose public torching of the Quran sparked violent Muslim protests in the Mideast told WND Jerusalem Bureau Chief Aaron Klein that an effigy of Islam's Prophet Muhammad may be next.

Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center of Gainesville, Fla., was speaking with Klein on the latter's "Aaron Klein Investigative Radio" on WABC 770 AM in New York City when the host asked if there was any truth to the rumor that Jones' church would put Muhammad "on trial," like it did with the Quran.

"There is that possibility," Jones said, before qualifying, "it is definitely not a possibility in the near future."

Nonetheless, he continued: "As far as judging Muhammad, it would take place in the same way. We would try to obtain experts on both sides of the bench, and if Muhammad was found innocent … then we would issue a public apology to Islam, to the Quran, to the followers of Muhammad for our actions at insulting [them]. If he was found guilty, then we would do in the same manner as the Quran burning. We would offer probably four or five different forms of punishment, and then the form of punishment that the people voted upon, that would be the punishment that would be executed."

Klein asked what kind of "punishment" Jones had in mind.

"Probably they would be forms similar to International Judge the Quran Day," Jones said. "On that day we had four forms of punishment – they were burning, grounding, shredding and facing of a firing squad. We would probably pick some of those kinds of forms, and if Muhammad was found guilty … we would put together some type of picture or some type of dummy figure to represent him, and then the execution would be done on that particular object we created."

rest: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=285425

[seekingtheanswers]

i agree islam is satan's religion, very evil it is. the media seems to cater to muslim and villify christians. but all christians are lumped together which makes all of us look bad. the extremists, catholics, cults such as mormons....