Danish PM warns of 'global crisis' over drawings

The Danish prime minister has called the growing unrest over caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad a "growing global crisis," urging calm as Muslim protests continued worldwide.

The most deadly incident on Tuesday occurred in Afghanistan, where several hundred protesters armed with assault rifles and grenades stormed the NATO base in a mele that killed at least three people.

The violent demonstration was just one of many that broke out in countries around the world, including Pakistan, Iran and Niger.

In Denmark, where the editorial cartoons were first published in the newspaper Jyllands-Posten, Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen accused "radicals, extremists and fanatics" of hijacking the debate over press freedom and respect for religion in order to "push forward their own agenda...

"We're facing a growing global crisis that has the potential to escalate beyond the control of governments and other authorities," Rasmussen said.

"I want to appeal and reach out to all people and countries in the Muslim world. Let us work together in the spirit of mutual respect and tolerance."

He also thanked those in the international community who have shown support for Denmark, which has been the target of Muslim outrage since the cartoons were first published there in September 2005.

The row showed no signs of abating on Tuesday, after days of angry protests that saw Muslim rioters torch the Danish, Norwegian and other embassies in Syria and Lebanon.

Protesters storm NATO base in Afghanistan

NATO sent troop reinforcements late Tuesday to a town in northwestern Afghanistan after protesters angry over caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad attacked their base, resulting in the three deaths.

Several hundred protesters armed with assault rifles and grenades stormed the compound in Maymana, which is headquarters to a provincial reconstruction team of about 100 Norwegian and Finnish troops. They burned cars and guard outposts, and threw stones and grenades.

Sverre Diesen, top commander of the Norwegian military, told reporters in Oslo that troops threw tear gas grenades and fired back with rubber bullets and warning shots. He said seven NATO soldiers were injured.

The provincial deputy governor, Sayed Ahmad Sayed, said Afghan police shot into the crowd, killing four protesters. About two dozen others were wounded, Maymana police said.

For the third straight day, Afghanistan also saw rallies involving thousands of demonstrators in other cities.

One of the largest took place outside the Danish diplomatic mission office in Kabul, where about 5,000 stone-throwing protesters were beaten back by baton-wielding police.

The cartoons include a drawing of Muhammad wearing a turban shaped like a bomb. They have recently been published by papers in Europe, North America and elsewhere, in a show of support for freedom of the press and freedom of speech.

The publications have offended many Muslims who consider them blasphemy, because Islamic tradition forbids even favourable depictions of Muhammad out of fear they could lead to idolatry.

Other developments on Tuesday related to the cartoons include:

• Iran's best-selling newspaper announced a competition for cartoons about the Holocaust. The country's top leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the caricatures were an Israeli conspiracy that sprang from the Hamas militant group's victory in January's Palestinian election even though they were printed months before the election by a Christian newspaper in Denmark.
• The European Union warned Iran, which has joined an international boycott of Danish goods, that the boycott or other trade sanctions against European countries could further deteriorate relations that were already strained over its nuclear program.
• As many as 10,000 people protested in Pakistan, chanting, "Hang the man who insulted the Prophet," and burning effigies of the Danish prime minister.
• Denmark warned its citizens to leave Indonesia, where boisterous demonstrations took place in at least four cities.
• U.S. President George W. Bush called his Danish counterpart to express his support over the issue.