Italy condemns Prophet cartoons as furor continues

[ECH1969]

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi sought Wednesday to distance Italy from Muslim outrage over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad by condemning the images, after anti-Italian rallies in Libya left 14 dead.

In another fallout of the cartoons controversy, the European Union's representative to Sudan said that the drawings led to attacks on foreign aid workers in the troubled Darfur region.

EU envoy to Sudan Pekka Haavisto warned that the Danish cartoon scandal "did not help the situation at all." "There were some attacks that were driven by the cartoon scandal against foreign aid organizations," Haavisto said.

In an interview with Al-Jazeera television channel, Berlusconi said: "Satire must not be disrespectful." He said the cartoons in a number of European newspapers "hurt the feelings of the faithful."

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