KABUL: At least 24 people were injured on Saturday when a protest in Kabul against French magazine Charlie Hebdo turned angry, police said, with officers firing warning shots after demonstrators pelted them with stones.

Some 500 people joined the rally on the outskirts of the Afghan capital to express their anger against the satirical magazine’s publication of controversial cartoons. “Seven protesters were wounded during the protest and they were taken to hospital,” Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi said.

Seventeen policemen were also injured when protesters hurled rocks at them, he added.

Local media, citing witnesses, said at least two people had been killed in the unrest, but the police chief dismissed the reports.

The satirical weekly, which lampoons everyone from the pope to presidents, had sparked anger in the Islamic world in the past with its cartoons.

Police said Saturday’s protest had been brought under control and the road opened for traffic.

“The protesters were throwing stones at the police, and the police fired some shots in the air to stop the protesters,” said Kabul deputy police chief Gul Agha Rohani.

Published in Dawn February 1st, 2015

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