Two killed as protest against Charlie Hebdo in Afghan capital goes violent

Large crowds of protesters poured onto the streets of the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Saturday to denounce the weekly.

Several demonstrators carried banners and placards reading, “Death to France” and “Death to the enemies of Islam.”

The participants denounced Western media for spreading Islamophobia and hostility against Muslims.

The protest turned violent when the riot police tried to disperse angry demonstrators. Police reportedly fired shots in the air and at stone-throwing protesters.

Local media quoted witnesses as saying that at least two people were killed and several others injured during the violent clashes between police and the protesters.

However, Kabul police chief, Abdul Rahman Rahimi, has denied reports of the deaths, saying 24 people, including several policemen were injured during the clashes.

Kabul deputy police chief, Gul Agha Rohani, rejected the accounts that police used live ammunition to break up the demonstration, saying, “The protesters were throwing stones at the police, and the police fired some shots in the air to stop the protesters.”

Muslims across the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and other regions have been outraged by the most recent publication of sacrilegious sketches of the Prophet Mohammad by Charlie Hebdo.

The French weekly has repeatedly provoked Muslim anger by publishing such offensive cartoons.

On January 14, the magazine, whose Paris office was attacked by two gunmen on January 7, once again published a cartoon of the Prophet on the cover of its new edition despite warnings that the move is provocative.