Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday tried to distance the U.S. government from a movie that has sparked protests throughout the Muslim world, calling it “disgusting and reprehensible” but also condemning violence in response to it.
“The U.S. government has absolutely nothing to do with this video. We absolutely reject its content and messages,” Clinton said. “But there is no justification — none at all — for responding to this video with violence.”
Clinton spoke two days after U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, an attack that analysts said was staged by militants to coincide with a demonstration against the controversial movie.
Protests denouncing the film also have raged outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo for three days. Demonstrators on Tuesday breached the walls of that heavily guarded compound, pulled down an American flag and destroyed it.
In Sanaa, Yemen, hundreds of demonstrators converged on a usually sealed-off street in front of the U.S. Embassy on Thursday for a protest that also turned violent, witnesses said. Protesters stormed a wall, set fire to a building inside the compound, broke windows and carried away office supplies and other souvenirs before being pushed back and dispersed by Yemeni security forces.
“We want to expel the American ambassador,” said Abdelwadood al-Mutawa, a protester who was walking out of the embassy compound. He said he was motivated by reports of the movie mocking the prophet Muhammad. “We cannot accept any insult to our prophet,” Mutawa said. “It’s a red line.”
Another protester said that some of the security forces protecting the building appeared sympathetic to the demonstrators’ cause. “Some soldiers were telling me, ‘These are dogs, and we cannot accept insulting our prophet,’ ” said Yusef Mohammad.
Smaller protests were reported in front of diplomatic offices in Iran and outside a mosque in Bangladesh.
Yemen’s president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, quickly issued an apology to the United States and ordered an investigation into incident.
“The Government of Yemen condemns any and all acts of violence against diplomatic personnel and facilities,” a statement from Yemen’s government said. “We strongly urge all those that would wish to incite others to violence to cease immediately.”
But the violence in Yemen again raised questions about whether vulnerable Middle East governments are willing or even able to protect American targets in their countries. It was a further measure of the depth of anger about the film insulting the prophet Muhammad, which was reportedly made in California, although much about its origins remains unknown.
President Obama spoke by phone with Libyan President Mohamed Yusuf al-Magariaf late Wednesday, accepting condolences for the American deaths in Benghazi and expressing appreciation for the cooperation between the United States and the people and government of Libya in the wake of the attack, the White House said.
“The U.S. government has absolutely nothing to do with this video. We absolutely reject its content and messages,” Clinton said. “But there is no justification — none at all — for responding to this video with violence.”
Clinton spoke two days after U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, an attack that analysts said was staged by militants to coincide with a demonstration against the controversial movie.
Protests denouncing the film also have raged outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo for three days. Demonstrators on Tuesday breached the walls of that heavily guarded compound, pulled down an American flag and destroyed it.
In Sanaa, Yemen, hundreds of demonstrators converged on a usually sealed-off street in front of the U.S. Embassy on Thursday for a protest that also turned violent, witnesses said. Protesters stormed a wall, set fire to a building inside the compound, broke windows and carried away office supplies and other souvenirs before being pushed back and dispersed by Yemeni security forces.
“We want to expel the American ambassador,” said Abdelwadood al-Mutawa, a protester who was walking out of the embassy compound. He said he was motivated by reports of the movie mocking the prophet Muhammad. “We cannot accept any insult to our prophet,” Mutawa said. “It’s a red line.”
Another protester said that some of the security forces protecting the building appeared sympathetic to the demonstrators’ cause. “Some soldiers were telling me, ‘These are dogs, and we cannot accept insulting our prophet,’ ” said Yusef Mohammad.
Smaller protests were reported in front of diplomatic offices in Iran and outside a mosque in Bangladesh.
Yemen’s president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, quickly issued an apology to the United States and ordered an investigation into incident.
“The Government of Yemen condemns any and all acts of violence against diplomatic personnel and facilities,” a statement from Yemen’s government said. “We strongly urge all those that would wish to incite others to violence to cease immediately.”
But the violence in Yemen again raised questions about whether vulnerable Middle East governments are willing or even able to protect American targets in their countries. It was a further measure of the depth of anger about the film insulting the prophet Muhammad, which was reportedly made in California, although much about its origins remains unknown.
President Obama spoke by phone with Libyan President Mohamed Yusuf al-Magariaf late Wednesday, accepting condolences for the American deaths in Benghazi and expressing appreciation for the cooperation between the United States and the people and government of Libya in the wake of the attack, the White House said.