About 100 pro-Palestine supporters in a march of more than 1,000 clashed with police at the US embassy in Pretoria Friday during a protest against the violence in the Middle East.
One policeman was stabbed in the head, and police turned water cannon on the crowd after attempting to keep them back using vehicles and shields, a reporter at the scene said.
That came after the protesters surged through a security barrier at the embassy and set alight a US flag.
An elderly protester apparently suffered a heart attack and was treated by emergency staff. Police arrested at least two people.
The crowd, chanting "Death to America," handed over a memorandum to the deputy chief of mission, John Blaney, demanding freedom for the occupied territories.
Police then declared the march illegal, but the protesters marched on toward the nearby Israeli embassy.
The protesters, under the banner of the Free Palestine Campaign, arrived at the US embassy after a heavily guarded march from a prayer service held in a park.
One banner praised the bombing Thursday of the destroyer USS Cole in Yemen, saying "More to come."
The memorandum handed to the embassy demanded that the United States "terminate its support for this terrorist regime," that Palestine be returned to "its rightful owners -- the Palestinians," that "Palestinian refugees in the diaspora be returned to their homes," and that the West compensate them for "50 years of oppression."
The US embassy was closed for the day -- on the orders of Washington -- along with others in Africa, and its flag was flying at half-mast.
Blaney told the group that the United States "will continue its work of peace in the Middle East." -- PRETORIA (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
