Lebanon's Interior Minister Hassan Sabeh has announced his resignation after a mob attacked the Danish consulate in Beirut in riots sparked by controversial Prophet Muhammed cartoons. Almost 30 people were injured as furious crowds on Sunday stormed and set ablaze the building housing the Danish consulate, despite the presence of riot police who had initially used tear gas and batons to keep protesters at bay. "I submitted my resignation to the government after criticisms were raised," Sabeh said after an extraordinary cabinet meeting. He said he had refused to give security forces the order to fire on the protesters because "I did not want to be responsible for any carnage. "Despite the intervention of more than 1000 members of the security forces, we were unable to impose order because of the determination of the protesters, who numbered several thousands."
| "I'm outta here. These people are crazy." |