Protests continue against attacks in Afghanistan

Protests continue against attacks in Afghanistan

Thomas Wagner, Associated Press, Tokyo

U.S.-led airstrikes on Afghanistan touched off more protests and
sharp criticism of the United States, especially in Muslim
countries. But allied support for the attacks remained strong,
despite reports of more civilian casualties.

In Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation,
hundreds of Islamic activists protesting the military campaign
clashed with police on Tuesday outside the American Embassy in
Jakarta, the capital.

U.S. and European officials have warned Westerners to stay
indoors in Indonesia to avoid possible attacks by Muslims who
sympathize with Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the Sept.
11 terrorist attacks in the United States, or with the Taliban,
the Islamic government in Afghanistan that is being targeted for
protecting bin Laden.

The air strikes continued in Afghanistan on Tuesday, including
overnight U.S. and British attacks on Taliban strongholds such as
Kandahar and Kabul, the capital.

The United Nations said Tuesday that four workers for a UN-
affiliated mine-clearing agency died in raids the previous night.
It was the first independent confirmation of civilian casualties,
although the Taliban have said dozens of people have been killed,
including women, children and the elderly.

UN officials in Islamabad appealed for the protection of
civilians, and the deaths prompted some newspapers to question
the military action.

On Tuesday, a top military official in Vietnam predicted the
military campaign will not subdue bin Laden or the Taliban. "I
support the fight against terror, but not by ... resorting to
war, because it is the civilians who will suffer the most," said
Van Tien Dung, one of his nation's top generals in the Vietnam
War.

North Korea, another communist country, said the retaliation
against Afghanistan's government could "plunge the world into the
holocaust of war."

However, as UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged all nations
to join the U.S.-led global war against terrorism, support for
the British and U.S. forces remained strong in many countries,
especially in Europe and Asia.

Prime Minister John Howard of Australia said Tuesday on that
150 elite Australian commandos could be called into action within
24 hours to help fight the war on terrorism.

He said the deployment of crack Special Air Service troops and
aircraft to bolster the attacks would depend on the success of
first-wave air strikes.

In South Korea, President Kim Dae-jung and the country's chief
opposition leader met for the first time in nine months and said
they support the U.S.-led coalition because "the terrorist
attacks in New York and Washington are a serious challenge to all
peace-loving people."

Qatar's UN ambassador, Nassir Al-Nasser, denied on Monday that
opposition to the U.S.-led war on terrorism in Islamic countries
has anything to do with religion.

Speaking to reporters at the United Nations, the ambassador,
who also is president of the Organization of Islamic Conference,
said: "We condemn the terrorism and (on Wednesday) an OIC
ministerial meeting will take place in Qatar to discuss the
terrorism and see how we can eliminate this, because it has
nothing to do with Islam."