FRANCE-SHOOTING/PAKISTAN-CLEAN Pakistan police clash with Charlie Hebdo protesters
Record ID:
324386
FRANCE-SHOOTING/PAKISTAN-CLEAN Pakistan police clash with Charlie Hebdo protesters
- Title: FRANCE-SHOOTING/PAKISTAN-CLEAN Pakistan police clash with Charlie Hebdo protesters
- Date: 16th January 2015
- Summary: KARACHI, PAKISTAN (JANUARY 16, 2015) (REUTERS) PROTESTERS HOLDING BANNER THAT READ "WE CONDEMN THE BLASPHEMY OF MUHAMMAD S.A.W IN THE NAME OF MEDIA LIBERALIZATION AND FREEDOM OF SPEECH" MEN HOLDING PLACARDS READING "IT HURTS TO SEE MY BELOVED BEING ABUSED AND BLASPHEMING, RESPECT OUR FEELING" MASKED MAN CHANTING ISLAMIC SLOGANS PROTESTERS MARCHING TOWARDS FRENCH CONSULATE WHILE CHANTING PROTESTERS HOLDING BANNERS AND PLACARDS MARCHING POLICE CAR OUTSIDE FRENCH CONSULATE GUN MOUNTED POLICEMAN/FRENCH FLAG OVER BUILDING IN BACKGROUND ARMED POLICE OFFICIALS STANDING GUARD PROTESTERS CHANTING "GOD IS GREATEST" PROTESTERS THROWING ROCKS SOUND OF GUN FIRE, ROCKS BEING HURLED AS POLICEMAN DUCKS INTO VAN WATER BEING SPRAYED PROTESTERS THROWING STONES WATER CANON SPRAYING WATER PHOTOGRAPHERS/POLICEMEN THROWING STONES POLICEMEN FIRING SHOTS
- Embargoed: 31st January 2015 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Pakistan
- Country: Pakistan
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA8MUMUUZO2TZ2X4YASMJS3QUEI
- Story Text: Pakistani police fired tear gas and water cannon at about 200 protesters outside the French consulate in the southern port city of Karachi on Friday (January 16) when a demonstration against the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo turned violent.
It was the first time anger over the cartoons lampooning Islam's Prophet Mohammad spilled into violence in deeply conservative Pakistan.
Last week, 17 people were killed in France in three days of violence that began with a shooting attack on Charlie Hebdo, known for its satirical attacks on Islam and other religions.
Charlie Hebdo's first edition since the attack, published on Wednesday, featured a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad on a cover that defenders praised as art but critics saw as a new provocation.
In Karachi, mostly students gathered outside the consulate on Friday afternoon shouting slogans, and the standoff quickly turned violent. Police had sealed off several streets in the surrounding area.
A Reuters reporter said some of the protesters appeared armed with guns and he saw them firing shots after security forces used water cannon and tear gas to stop the crowd advancing on the consulate.
A photographer with French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) was wounded in the clashes, police said.
"AFP photographer Asif Hasan suffered wounds resulting from gunshots fired by ... protesters, police have not opened fire," Abdul Khalique Shaikh, a senior police officer in southern Karachi, told Reuters.
At least three people were wounded and taken to hospital, one in critical condition, a Karachi doctor said. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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