At least 200 Muslims protested against the
cartoons in Surabaya |
Indonesian
police have fired warning shots to break up a protest in Surabaya,
East Java, over cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad.
It was the latest protest to hit Indonesia and other countries
regarding the pictures, which were first printed in a Danish
newspaper last year.
Protesters in Surabaya first attacked the Danish and then the US
consulate.
The row also spread to Australia, where Muslims demanded a
newspaper apologise for publishing one of the cartoons.
At least 200 protesters gathered outside the Danish consulate in
Surabaya, Indonesia's second largest city, before moving on to the
US consulate.
The warning shots were fired when the protesters tried to remove
the US consulate's plaque, reports said.
There were also protests outside the Danish embassies in Jakarta
and Bangkok, Thailand.
The cartoons first appeared in a Danish newspaper in September,
and have been reprinted in other European newspapers in the last few
weeks.
Brisbane's Courier Mail printed one of the 12 cartoons at the
weekend, prompting calls for an apology from Queensland's Islamic
Council.
One of the cartoons shows Muhammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban.
They have caused outrage among Muslims, as Islamic tradition
explicitly prohibits images of Allah, Muhammad and all the major
figures of the Christian and Jewish traditions.