DENMARK: Danish aid workers in Muslim countries were told to stay away from religious ceremonies that could spark more protests over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, while the cartoonists at the centre of the row remained in hiding yesterday.
The Danish Foreign Ministry also urged its citizens to leave Lebanon because of expected demonstrations.
"We are pulling people out of areas where demonstrations are expected and keeping them away until later," said Helge Kvam, spokesman of the Danish Red Cross which has about 40 Danish staff in Muslim countries, from north Africa to Indonesia.
Muslims in Denmark held demonstrations yesterday for the Islamic Ashura commemorating the martyrdom of the grandson of the Prophet, Husayn ibn Ali.
The Danish Refugee Council with 90 international staff, many in Muslim countries, said it had pulled staff from Afghanistan and Sudan and halted operations in Chechnya.
Danish Church Aid said it had suspended its operations in Islamic countries since tension over the cartoon row escalated.