Egypt, Lebanon work to end film protests

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CAIRO, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Dozens of protesters were arrested in Egypt while police in Lebanon were protecting U.S.-based chain restaurants Saturday amid protests of an anti-Islam film.

Traffic was beginning to return to normal in Cairo, where vehicles zigzagged through streets still strewn with debris from days of protests, CNN reported.

The protests started Tuesday after news spread of a web-based film produced in the United States that impugned the character of the Prophet Muhammad.

By Saturday, the Interior Ministry said 142 protesters had been arrested and 99 police officers injured.

At least 15 protesters were injured Friday from eye injuries and inhaling tear gas.

U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and three other American officials were killed Tuesday in an attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi.

Police in Lebanon were taking precautionary measures against violence, posting soldiers and armored vehicles around KFC, McDonald's, Burger King and other U.S.-based eating establishments in the coastal city of Sidon, The (Beirut) Daily Star reported.

Security forces in uniforms and plain clothes were patrolling nearby streets.

One protester was killed and at least 27 police officers were injured when demonstrators threw stones at two restaurants and set them on fire in Tripoli, Lebanon.