KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, 22 January 2008 — A group of Afghans protested yesterday against what they called the desecration of the Qur’an by British forces, the district governor said, although he and a British spokesman denied any desecration took place.
Numerous people describing themselves as demonstrators and residents also telephoned a Reuters reporter in the southern city of Kandahar to say some 600 people took part in the protest in Girishk district of neighboring Helmand province.
“The villagers told them that there were no Taleban hiding in the villages and swore by copies of the Qur’an they had in their hands,” he said by telephone.
“The British soldiers threw away the Qur’an and began searching the houses.” Shouting slogans against the Afghan government and foreign troops, the protesters will continue unless the culprits are punished, another man said.
