The BBC is reporting that Syrians have set fire to the Norwegian and Danish embassies in Damascus to protest at the publication of the Jyllands Posten Muhammad cartoons.

Protesters stormed the Danish site amid chants of “God is great”, before moving on to attack the Norwegian mission.

Police fired tear gas to try to disperse crowds at the second site, but protesters broke in and set it ablaze.

The twelve cartoons were originally published back in September and the Islamic world has been getting increasingly outraged after a group of Danish Muslim leaders and imams took a 43 page report to the Middle East to “explain” how offensive the cartoons are in January.

This report included 15 cartoons. In addition to the ones published by Jyllands Posten, the Danish Muslim leaders added three more of their own making depicting Muhammed as a paedophile demon, with the snout of a pig, and being sodomised by a dog. Not surprisingly, they have managed to whip up the storm they were seeking.

According to the Beeb:

Syrians have been staging sit-ins outside the Danish embassy since the row intensified earlier this week, when Damascus recalled its ambassador.

On Saturday, hundreds hurled stones and stormed the Danish site, before moving to the Norwegian embassy.

“With our blood and souls we defend you, O Prophet of God,” they chanted outside the Danish building, which also houses the Swedish and Chilean missions.

Some removed the Danish flag and replaced it with another reading: “There is no god but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God.”

The embassy was closed, but it was not immediately clear if it was empty when the protests started.

Thick, black smoke rose from the building as firefighters struggled to put out the flames.

Ambulances rushed to the scene and dozens of policemen stood guard.

Not surprisingly, Copenhagen has called on all Danes to leave Syria immediately.

Update (23:31): According to Spiegel, the protestors were last seen heading in the direction of the French embassy.

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