Sudan: YouTube Banned After Protesters Burn German Embassy

Angry Sudanese protesters attacked the German and American Embassies in Khartoum on Friday 14 September, 2012, in protest against a movie produced in the United States, which insults Prophet Mohammad.

The YouTube video of the 14-minute low budget movie trailer, entitled ‘The Innocence of Muslims’, has sparked the anger of Muslims around the world. In Libya, an angry mob attacked the US Consulate in Ben Ghazi, killing the American Ambassador there, as well as three Embassy staff.

The repercussions of the attacks have trickled down to the Internet in Sudan, with video sharing site YouTube now blocked by the authorities , after the company refused to take down the offending video.

New Khartoon: Khalid Albaih shares this cartoon on censorship in Sudan on his Facebook page (17/09/12).

New Khartoon: Khalid Albaih shares this cartoon on censorship in Sudan on his Facebook page (17/09/12).

Sudanese blogger Usamah Mohammed tweeted on 16 September:

@simsimt: Confirmed by many Sudanese tweeps, @YouTube has been blocked in #Sudan.

And Khalid Albaih explains:

@khalidalbaih: Talks that #Sudan has blocked @YouTube after refusal to take the video that started the riots down

On Twitter, netizens are looking for answers why the German Embassy was attacked in Khartoum.

Egyptian Alyaa Gad, who lives in Switzerland, comments [ar]:

مصري في أمريكا يعمل فيلم مش حلو فيحرقوا السفارة الألمانية في السودان. دا سببه الرئيسي أنكم بتضربوا العيال على مؤخرة الرأس كتير. مش باهزر.

@AlyaaGad: An Egyptian in the US produces a movie which isn't nice so they burn the German Embassy in Sudan. The reason for this is that they hit children on their heads a lot. I am not joking.

On YouTube, yas9966 shares this video which shows the Sudanese protesting and attacking embassies:

Uncle Google says the Sudanese burnt the German Embassy because the American Embassy was far. He tweets [ar]:

المُبرر الوحيد لحرق “السودانيين” للسفارة الألمانية.. أن السفارة الأميريكية بعيده شوي! ‎:)‏

@UncleGoogle: The only excuse for the Sudanese to burn the German Embassy was because the US Embassy is a bit far away

And Omar Alhady explains [ar]:

السودانيين طلعوا مكسلين يروحوا السفارة الأمريكية فعلا، بس بعد ما حرقوا الألمانية وسخنت معاهم، جابوا أتوبيسات وطالعين على الأمريكية

@Asadx: The Sudanese were really too lazy to go to the US Embassy but after burning the German Embassy and things heating up, they took taxis and are going to the American Embassy

Saudi Bassam Al Dakhiel offers another explanation [ar]:

سبب مايحدث في ‎‫#الخرطوم‬‏ : أن الحكومة السودانية مشددة أمنها على السفارة الأمريكية لذلك المتظاهرين حرقوا السفارة الألمانية واقتحموا البريطانية!

@Bassam_13: The reason for what's happening in Khartoum: The Sudanese government has heightened security around the US Embassy so the protesters burned the German Embassy and stormed the British Embassy instead.

But Sudanese Mansoor Eltayeb remarks [ar]:

حزب البشير اراد إيصال رسالة للمجتمع الغربي من خلال ‎‫#حرق_السفارة_اﻷلمانية‬‏ أنه في حالة سقوط نظام البشير سيواجهون نظام اسلامي متشدد . لكنه أخفق

@mansoorEltayeb: Al Basheer's party wanted to send a message to the West through the burning of the German Embassy which says that if Al Basheer's regime falls, they will face an extreme Islamist regime. But it had failed.

Meanwhile, Palestinian writer Yaser Al Zaatreh says [ar]:

ما علاقة السفارة الألمانية بالقضية. السودانيون ذهبوا للعنوان الخطأ، مع أننا نعارض استهداف السفارات وموظفيها.


@YZaatreh
: What's the connection of the German Embassy with the matter. The Sudanese seem to have gone to the wrong address although we are against targeting Embassies and their staff.

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