Petraeus condemns Quran-burning as protests rage on

Check out CNN.com’s Afghanistan Crossroads blog for the latest developments, and the Belief Blog for a timeline of Terry Jones.

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) — The top American military commander and civilian representative in Afghanistan Sunday condemned the burning of a Quran in the United States, an act which sparked days of protests that have left more than 20 dead.

Burning the Muslim holy book “was hateful, it was intolerant and it was extremely disrespectful and again, we condemn it in the strongest manner possible,” Gen. David Petraeus said Sunday.

Ambassador Mark Sedwill called the burning of a Quran by a small Florida church “an act of disrespect to the Muslim faith and to all peoples of faith. It does not represent the views of the peoples or governments of the alliance.”

The comments came as protests left at least one person dead and 16 were injured in southern Afghanistan Sunday in clashes between police and stone-throwing protesters, an official and a local elder said.

The clashes Sunday occurred during a protest in the city of Kandahar, according to Ahmad Wali Karzai, the provincial council chief and President Hamid Karzai’s brother, and local elder Haji Abdul Malik.

Zalmai Ayubi, a spokesman for the governor of Kandahar, said at least two had been hurt. He said police had fired their guns but were warned by the authorities not to do so.

Demonstrators in the city of Jalalabad Sunday also protested the Quran-burning, blocking a major road that leads to the capital of Kabul, witnesses said. The Jalalabad protesters included university students.

The national assembly of clerics Sunday condemned the burning of a Quran and asked President Karzai to demand that Pastor Terry Jones face justice for it.

They also condemned the killing of civilians and of United Nations staff in the demonstrations.

At least nine people were killed in Kandahar a day earlier, and 12 people died on Friday when angry demonstrators stormed a United Nations compound in Mazar-e Sharif.

Five demonstrators and seven U.N. employees were among the dead in the violence on Friday.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday extended condolences to the families and loved ones of those killed in Mazar-e Sharif, but also decried the burning of the Quran.

“The desecration of any holy text … is an act of extreme intolerance and bigotry,” he said in a statement released by the White House. “However, to attack and kill innocent people in response is outrageous, and an affront to human decency and dignity.”

Besmellah Afghanmal, a Kandahar provincial council member, said hundreds gathered in Kandahar Saturday to protest the Quran burning.

“Today the enemies of peace in Afghanistan killed and injured our people in Kandahar,” said a statement from the office of the Kandahar governor.

The demonstration started peacefully, but protesters turned violent, setting fire to a school and vehicles in Kandahar city, said Ayoubi, the spokesman for the governor of Kandahar province.

Along with the nine deaths, 73 others were injured, the provincial government said.

Ayoubi said Afghan security forces arrested 17 people, including seven who were armed and are suspected of shooting at protesters.

Pastor Jones sparked international controversy last year when his Gainesville, Florida, church planned “International Burn a Quran Day” on the ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Jones’ church did not host a Quran burning on that day, but the Dove World Outreach Center’s website announced an “International Judge the Koran Day” set for last month.

Another post on the site’s blog showed an image of a burning book and read, “The event is over, the Koran was found guilty and a copy was burned inside the building.”

The Mazar-e Sharif killings generated worldwide condemnation, from the U.N. Security Council to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, a 57-state group that calls itself the “collective voice of the Muslim world.”

Jones in a statement Friday called the assault “a very tragic and criminal action.”

Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai, a spokesman for the police in Mazar-e Sharif, told reporters that a number of suspects “who might be the main organizers” had been arrested from the Friday attack

The United Nations says the seven U.N. staffers killed were four Nepalese security guards and three civilians. A U.N. source said the three civilians were from Norway, Sweden and Romania.

U.N. Peacekeeping Director Alain Le Roy said five demonstrators also were killed. He said no Afghan U.N. staff members were among the dead, he said.

CNN’s Matiullah Mati contributed to this report.