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Afghan Koran protest resumes in Kandahar | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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KABUL (AFP) – Hundreds of people took to the streets of Kandahar on Sunday to protest against the burning of a Koran in the US, an official said, a day after 10 people died during similar demonstrations in the southern Afghan city.

The deaths on Saturday came amid intense anger over the burning of a copy of the Koran by a Florida pastor in the United States.

The mob turned violent after police blocked their march towards UN and government offices in Kandahar, which is the spiritual heartland of the Taliban insurgency.

More than 80 other people including security forces were injured, according to the authorities.

On Sunday hundreds of people, mostly young men came on the streets and shouted “Death to the US” and “Death to Karzai,” witnesses said.

Zalmai Ayoubi, a spokesman for the provincial administration confirmed the protests, adding that they were peaceful.

“Yes there are demonstrations in three locations in Kandahar city and there’s a demonstration in Panjwayi district,” he said, referring to a nearby town, about 10 kilometers (six miles) southwest of Kandahar.

Angry protests sparked by the burning of the a copy of Koran by a Florida pastor Terry Jones started in major Afghan cities on Friday.

Seven UN staff were killed in an attack on their office by the protesters in the northern town of Mazar-i-Sharif. The UN mission for the war-torn country said Sunday that it will continue its work here despite the killings.