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Protesters, police clash outside U.S. Consulate in Sydney
(CBS/AP) Calm is returning today to most cities around the Muslim world a day after at least six people were killed in a wave of angry protests over an anti-Islam film.
It is hoped the violence peaked Friday, which is the main day for religious gatherings in the Muslim world, said CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer.
However, in Sydney, Australia on Saturday, riot police used pepper spray in clashes against about 200 protesters outside the U.S. Consulate.
Hundreds took part in an anti-Islam film protest in Sydney, surprising shoppers and catching police off guard.
The protest quickly amassed into a group of 500 people carrying signs and chanting slogans.
"We are defending our Prophet Mohammed, we are defending His honor," said one unidentified protester.
Several streets were closed as the protesters threw bottles and trash at police, who tried to contain the demonstration using police dogs and capsicum spray.
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More than a dozen ambulances attended the protest and by late afternoon four people had been taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries, a New South Wales Ambulance Service spokeswoman told Reuters.
Several people had also been treated at the scene for the effects of capsicum spray, the spokeswoman added.
A number of participants were detained, and police said they would continue to monitor the situation in Hyde Park, where the protesters gathered.
A local Muslim leader addressed the protesters in Sydney's Hyde Park and called for calm.
The Sydney protest follows several days of anti-U.S. anger around the world over the amateurish film "Innocence of Muslims." The video, considered blasphemous against Muhammad, is thought to have triggered a wave of protests, and is believed linked to the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed the ambassador and three other Americans on September 11.
Muslims angry over the film produced in the U.S. took the streets yesterday in more than 20 countries from the Mideast to Southeast Asia.
In Cairo, Egyptian police have cleared out protesters who had clashed with security forces for the past four days near the U.S. Embassy.
Reporting from Cairo, Palmer said, "There's absolutely no sign of unrest this morning."
Security forces erected a concrete wall blocking the main street leading to the embassy after finally dispersing several hundred youths who had been battling with police, trying to get to the building.
They also cleared nearby Tahrir Square where protests were being held.
To see Elizabeth Palmer's report, click on the video in the player above.
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