Features

BERLIN — European nations threw their support behind U.S.-British attacks on Osama bin Laden and the Afghan rulers who protect him, but the military strikes sparked protests and sharp criticism across the Muslim world. 

In the Gaza Strip, anti-American demonstrations ended with a gunbattle between Palestinian police and student protesters that left two Palestinian bystanders dead. 

Thousands of Taliban supporters in Pakistan burned buildings, including a U.N. office, battled police and demanded holy war against America. One person was killed and 26 were hurt in the city of Quetta, a doctor said. 

In Europe, NATO and the European Union underlined their support for the military effort. 

“There is no lack of enthusiasm for this campaign,” NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson said. The alliance agreed to send five early-warning planes and crews to the United States to free up U.S. surveillance aircraft for use against bin Laden’s network. 

Across Europe, anti-war demonstrators gathered for mostly small marches that ended without violence. 

Outside the U.S. embassy in Athens, Greece, protesters burned U.S. and European Union flags and chanted “American murderers of the peoples” and “Bush you are the terrorist.” 

A small group of anarchists chanted slogans in favor of the terrorist attacks in the United States. 

In Brussels, about 300 protesters waved red flags and what appeared to be out-of-date Gulf War posters proclaiming “No war for oil” outside the U.S. Embassy. About 250 people gathered for a peaceful protest in the German city of Hamburg. 

In Istanbul, Turkey – NATO’s only Muslim member – a small leftist party held an anti-U.S. protest while about 400 Muslim worshippers chanted anti-American slogans at the end of afternoon prayers. 

The U.S. European Command, based in Stuttgart, Germany, said it was stepping up security at all its installations to the second-highest alert level, known as Charlie. 

The European Union’s foreign ministers said in a statement that bin Laden, the chief suspect behind the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington, his al-Qaida movement and the Taliban regime that sheltered him “are now facing the consequences of their action.” 

Meeting in Luxembourg, they appealed to the United Nations to install a broad-based government in Kabul. Italy and Spain expressed their readiness for an increased military role, joining France and Germany. 

Canada announced it was contributing six navy ships, six transport and surveillance aircraft and a special forces unit to the U.S.-led military campaign. 

Across the Middle East, many accused the United States of applying a double standard by seeking to punish those responsible for terror strikes on U.S. soil while ignoring Israeli actions against Palestinians. 

Jordan, a moderate voice in the region, said in a statement that it “supports the international efforts to combat terrorism.” However, it added, the world needs to deal with “the primary reasons which are causing frustration in our region and this means a just solution to the Palestinian problem.” 

King Abdullah and visiting Syrian President Bashar Assad stressed that “Arabs and their causes should not be held responsible for the terrorist attacks in the United States.” 

The attacks drew criticism in Iran, Sudan, Lebanon and Malaysia, among other countries, and protests in Muslim nations from Egypt to Indonesia. 

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, asserted America’s “real objective ... was domination and expansionism.” 

Sudan condemned “this war on Afghan land,” and its students took to the streets in Khartoum, shouting, “Long live bin Laden!” and “Down with America!” 

In Gaza City, two Palestinians, aged 13 and 21, were killed and 45 injured after Palestinian police opened fire on Islamic University students protesting the strikes. It was the worst internal fighting in several years. 

Hundreds of people protested outside the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta on Monday amid new threats against Westerners living in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation. 

In rallies in Dhaka, Bangladesh, people shouted anti-America slogans and burned effigies of President Bush. There were no reports of violence and the demonstrators dispersed peacefully. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the strikes on Afghanistan were justified, asserting the terrorists “did not expect such a unity of humanity before the common enemy.” 

Communist Cuba said the military action was “a cure worse than the disease.” 

The Communist Party daily Granma said the military operations would make terrorism “much more complicated and difficult to eradicate.”