2012 Afghanistan Quran burning protests

2012 Afghanistan Quran burning protests
Part of War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
Bagram Airfield, where the Quran burnings took place.
Date22 February 2012 (2012-02-22)[1] – 27 February 2012
Location
Afghanistan

34°56′46″N 69°15′54″E / 34.94611°N 69.26500°E / 34.94611; 69.26500
Caused byQuran desecration
MethodsDemonstrations, riots and assassinations
Casualties and losses
Deaths: 41[2]
Injuries: At least 270[3]

The 2012 Afghanistan Quran burning protests were a series of protests of varying levels of violence which took place early in 2012 in response to the burning of Islamic religious material by soldiers from the United States Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. On 22 February 2012, U.S. troops at Bagram Base disposed of copies of the Quran that had been used by Taliban prisoners to write messages to each other. As part of the disposal, parts of the books were burned. Afghan forces working at the base reported this, resulting in outraged Afghans besieging Bagram AFB, raining it with molotov cocktails and stones.[4] After five days of protest, 30 people had been killed, including four Americans. Over 200 people were wounded.[5] International condemnation[6] followed the burning of copies of the Quran, on 22 February 2012, from the library that is used by inmates at the base's detention facility. The protests included domestic riots which caused at least 41 deaths and at least 270 injuries.[3][7]

  1. ^ "9 killed in Quran burning protests in Afghanistan". China Daily. 25 February 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  2. ^ "Gunmen kill NATO forces in southern Afghanistan". Edition.cnn.com. March 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Quinn was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Koran Burning by US troops in Afghanistan provokes outrage and revolts". National Turk. 21 February 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  5. ^ "Obama forced to apologise to Karzai for Koran burnings in Afghanistan". Agence France-Presse (AFP). The Australian. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  6. ^ "Interfax-Religion". Interfax-Religion. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference stripes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).