DAMASCUS, Syria, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Police evacuated the Danish embassy in Syria following a bomb alert relating to the slandering of Mohammed by a Danish newspaper.
Police cut off all roads leading to the Danish embassy in central Damascus, evacuated the building, and led a search which found no trace of a bomb, security sources said.
A source at the embassy said an anonymous telephone call claimed Wednesday morning that a bomb was planted inside the embassy to avenge the humiliation of Islam by a Danish newspaper which published cartoons of Prophet Mohammed. In one cartoon he carried a bomb inside his turban.
Hundreds of Syrian protesters demonstrated outside the embassy Tuesday as the Syrian foreign ministry issued a statement denouncing slander of the symbol of Islam.
In a related development, the international Swiss dairy product company, Nido, issued a clarification statement at the front pages of Syrian newspapers denying any link with Danish dairy products.
The statement asserted that Nido products are not processed in Denmark and the company does not import Danish raw material. It also denounced offending any religion, stressing its total respect of all confessions and the local traditions and rituals in any country.
The cartoons depicting Prophet Mohammed sparked outrage in Muslim and Arab countries where social and religious groups called for the boycott of Danish products.
Depicting Prophet Mohammed is banned under Islam and considered a grave offense and slander punishable by law in many Muslim countries.
