Consulate protesters clash with riot police

Police officer Mohammad Ranjha says police fired tear gas and water cannons at the protesters yesterday after they broke through a barricade.

Police and private security guards outside the consulate also fired shots in the air to disperse the crowd.

Ali Ahmar, a spokesman for the Shiite Muslim group that organised the rally, said one protester was killed. But police officer Iqbal Mahmood said they had no information about a death.

Thousands of people held peaceful protests against the film in several other cities in Pakistan.

The film denigrates Islam’s Prophet Muhammad and has sparked violent protests elsewhere.

The US State Department yesterday ordered the departure of all family members and non-essential US government personnel from its embassies in Sudan and Tunisia and warned US citizens against any travel to the two countries due to security concerns over rising anti-American violence.

In Tunisia, the warning advised Americans that the international airport in Tunis is open and encouraged all US citizens to depart on commercial flights. It said Americans who chose to remain in Tunisia should use extreme caution and avoid demonstrations.

On Friday, protesters climbed the walls into the US Embassy in Tunis, torching cars in the car park, trashing the entrance building and setting fire to a gym and a neighbouring American school that is now unusable.