Posted on 09/01/2004 7:48:14 AM PDT by Alouette
KATHMANDU (AFP) - Thousands of people rampaged through Kathmandu, setting fire to a mosque and Arab targets and ransacking employment agencies after 12 Nepalese hostages were murdered in Iraq.
Two men were shot and slightly wounded by security guards when they tried to storm the Egyptian embassy, which represents Iraqi interests in the Himalayan kingdom, police and a doctor said.
The streets returned to normal after the government clamped an indefinite curfew and declared a national day of mourning Thursday for the victims of the worst hostage massacre in Iraq since the US-led invasion.
Demonstrators, some chanting "Punish the Muslims!", swept through Kathmandu early Wednesday, throwing stones and ransacking any targets with Arabic-language script.
Protesters climbed on top of and set fire to the Jama Masjid mosque, the largest shrine of the city's small Muslim minority, after pulling out its furniture and electrical equipment for a sidewalk bonfire.
Riot police used batons to push the crowd of some 5,000 people out of a sensitive central area which includes King Gyanendra's Narayanhity Palace, a police officer said.
The mosque suffered only minor damage but many of its contents were destroyed.
The protests erupted late Tuesday after news that the 12, who left the impoverished nation in search of jobs, were murdered by militants who abducted them about 10 days ago.
The kidnappers accused them of cooperating with US forces.
A mob made up mainly of youths broke windows of more than a dozen employment agencies blamed for sending Nepalese to Iraq and set fire to their vehicles, furniture and computers, police said.
An employee at Qatar Airways, one of the main airlines used by Nepalese seeking jobs in the Middle East, said dozens of angry people stormed into their premises and smashed furniture before setting the building on fire.
The employee estimated damage in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Many protesters also demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, saying he should take responsibility for the failure to free the hostages.
The government had repeatedly stressed that Nepal, which is fighting a bloody Maoist rebellion, was not part of the US-led coalition in Iraq.
Deuba appealed for calm in an address to the nation Wednesday.
"The terrorists who committed this gruesome act don't have any religion or principles. I call upon all citizens of Nepal to have patience," he said.
"We made honest efforts to save them but the militants never spelt out their conditions," Deuba said. "We are now trying our best to bring back the bodies of the victims."
His government announced compensation of one million rupees (14,400 dollars) for the families of each of the 12 slain hostages, a major sum in the one of the world's poorest countries.
The Himalayan capital's skies were patrolled by army helicopters, which were last called out last week when Maoist rebels fighting to overthrow the monarchy ordered a halt to traffic to and from the city of 1.5 million people.
Hindus make up more than 86 percent of the population in Nepal, the world's only officially Hindu state. But the kingdom has experienced little of the inter-religious violence that has scarred neighbouring India.
Muslims account for 3.8 percent of the 27 million population. Some 7.8 percent adhere to Buddhism in Nepal, which is the birthplace of the Buddha, with smaller religions comprising 2.2 percent.
Spontaneous protest strikes were called in the towns of Pokhara, Gorkha and Biratnagar with youths taking to the streets to stop vehicles.
A statement announcing the killings was posted on an Islamist website by an Al-Qaeda-linked group called the Army of Ansar al-Sunna.
It was accompanied by pictures of the grisly beheading of a blindfolded hostage, including one where his bloodied head was held up like a trophy by a hooded captor. A video showed the other Nepalese being shot.
Isn't the Gurkha yell:
Ayo, Gurkhali!
Hoppy
I have made myself watch each and everyone of these videos.
I will never forget -- every American needs to be reminded what we are dealing with.
Americans cannot waiver in our commitment to eradicate the world of these barbarians.
Someone mentioned here that Andrea Mitchell was upset Monday night at the RNC reminding everyone about the effects of 9/11, when "we were just beginning to get over the events of 9/11." GET OVER -- what world is this woman living in?
How dare she? Maybe she's "getting over 9/11" and that's the problem with the elite media.
About damn time.
Their "holy book" advocates "striking off the heads of infidels", does it not??
Why else do these muslims kill the way they do?
a worldwide war on Islam? Long overdue, i would say.
The Capt.
The connection is their faith, which universally demands the conversion or death of the "infidel". No religion is spared from their barbarism and depravity.
The deafening silence of the 'moderate' Muslims, and their unwillingness to drop a dime on the radicals and terrorists living amongst them speaks volumes. Please don't tell me about Pakistan and Saudi 'helping' us. Musharif is being paid off by Uncle Sam to do this, but the Muslim 'man on the street' hates Musharif for helping the U.S. As for Saudi Arabia, they pump out far more terrorists and jihadis than they capture or kill.
"Nepal and Iraq are world's apart. Care to show evidence of a connection?"
What a stupid little attempt to bait me. But thanks anyway for the geography lesson.
I don't think the Muslims give a rats ass what happens to anyone except Muslims. And I not interested in playing your little game.
Your sympathy for Nepalese Muslims would be best appreciated on the Al Jazeera web site.
BTW, welcome to Free Republic.
Perhaps there will be an awakening to the terror spread the world over by the islamic vermin.
He is not indiscriminately murdering innocents who just happen to have been born in Afghanistan or Iraq. He is freeing them. These policies are correct; the policy of indiscriminate slaughter proposed by many here would only serve to inflame the situation and drive people into the terrorists' camps...
It appears Nepal seems to be cleaning up their mess fairly precisely.
Islamites know one principle, if your family is in jeopardy because of your actions, you'll develop a touch of common sense and civility. Nepal is showing anyone adhering to the islamite religion is in danger, thus the message that ALL islamites could be at risk may slap those fanatics back into the real world of payback.
I guess the Nepalese are a results minded people. Looks like they don't want to take what happened to their 12 countrymen lying down.
Payback's a Hillary, ain't it?
I heard her with my own ears and I wondered who told her that lie and if she really believed it. It amazes me how some of these talking heads assume that they can speak for all American people.
Hmmm.... 3,000 people murdered and I can't remember much mob violence in the US. I remember many on the left stating that we would act like these uncivilized animals, but I don't remember it happening.
Well, I hate that. /sarcasm
If the mulsims don't clean up their own house, the rest of the world will do it for them. Its only a matter of time.
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