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Afghans burn French flag, chant 'Death to France' at rally against weekly's prophet cover

Associated Press
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Afghan university students chant slogans during a protest against caricatures published in French magazine Charlie Hebdo in Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2015. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

Afghan university students chant slogans during a protest against caricatures published in French magazine Charlie Hebdo in Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2015. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

Several hundred Afghans have burned the French flag as they chanted "Death to France" during a rally against the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo's latest publication of a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad, which devout Muslims deem an insult to Islam.

The protesters — mostly young Afghan men — at Monday's rally in Jalalabad, the capital of the eastern Nangarhar province, also demanded the French Embassy in Kabul be shut down and that the French government apologize to Muslims.

It was the third straight day of protests across Afghanistan since the paper's first issue following the Jan. 7 attack on its headquarters by Islamic extremists that killed 12.

Naheeb GhamSarik, a demonstrator in Jalalabad, says the protesters demand France "respect the holy values of Muslims and respect the Muslim prophet."