Muslim anger mounts over Danish cartoons

Dubai: Denmark-based dairy group Arla Foods said the consumer boycott of its products in the Middle East was almost total.

Arla Foods products have been removed from shop shelves in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE, the dairy group said, agencies reported.

Arla Foods has annual sales of 2.6 billion crowns ($430 million) in the Middle East and about 1,000 employees in the region.

The Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten's publication of offensive cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) led to tension between Denmark and some Muslim countries.

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson warned Saudi Arabia that it would seek action from the World Trade Organisation if Riyadh supported a boycott of Danish goods, AFP quoted the European Commission spokesman as saying.

Mandelson told a Saudi official that any boycott of Danish products would be a boycott of the European Union. The Saudi official said his government had not encouraged the boycott.

In Gaza, Palestinian gunmen stormed into EU offices in Gaza, stamping on a Danish flag before burning it along with the Norwegian standard.

Demonstrators said Danes and Norwegians are barred from the Palestinian territories until Copenhagen apologised for publishing the offensive caricatures. The gunmen warned the Scandinavians would face attacks in the territories. Following the threats, Danes were asked to leave the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Travel ban

Denmark also warned citizens on Monday not to travel to Saudi Arabia and Palestinian territories, news agencies said.

In Sharjah, the Municipal Council became the first official organisation to approve the boycott of Danish products by major retailers in the UAE.

In a press release, the council praised the Sharjah Cooperative Society for pulling out Danish products. The Sharjah co-op also removed from its shelves products imported from companies in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia which have joint venture links with Denmark.