The Protest Comes A Day After A Policeman And Three Civilians Were Killed In Protets Against Charlie Hebdo In Niger’s Second City Of Zinder
Niamey : At least two churches were torched in Niger’s capital on Saturday as protests raged on against the publication of a Prophet Mohammed cartoon – considered as un-Islamic by Muslims – by a French weekly Charlie Hebdo.
Around 100 helmeted riot police stood in front of the Niamey cathedral at midday, protecting it from a crowd of stone-throwing youths, an AFP correspondent on the scene reported.
Earlier, police fired tear gas to disperse some 1,000 youths in front of the city’s grand mosque and AFP witnessed protesters in several parts of the city armed with iron bars and clubs. France’s embassy in Niamey warned French citizens to stay indoors after rioters also ransacked several French-linked businesses, including telephone kiosks run by Orange.
“Be very cautious, avoid going out,” the embassy said on its website.
The protest came a day after a policeman and three civilians were killed and 45 injured in protests against Charlie Hebdo in Niger’s second city of Zinder, which saw three churches ransacked and the French cultural centre burned down.
Thousands of Muslims demonstrated across the world on Friday, venting fury over the new Prophet Mohammed cartoon- considered as un-Islamic by Muslims – that Charlie Hebdo published in the wake of Islamist attacks on its offices and elsewhere in Paris last week.
Many Muslims see any such depiction as offensive, while many Western governments support Charlie Hebdo’s position that publishing the cartoons is an exercise in freedom o expression.
French President Francois Hollande today stressed that the country had “principles, values, notably freedom of expression”.
France Defends Freedom Of Speech After Violent Protests
Paris : President Francois Hollande stressed that France was committed to “freedom of expression” after fresh violence broke out in Niger at a rally against French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Meanwhile, jittery European nations stepped up security in the wake of last week’s attacks in France that claimed 17 lives.
In London, authorities were mulling “further measures” to protect police “given some of the deliberate targeting of the police we have seen in a number of countries across Europe and the world,” said Mark Rowley, head of counter-terrorism for the British police. British police officers, for the most part unarmed, might be equipped with taser guns as part of reinforced security measures, according to the local press.
