GERMANY AND FRANCE are following the lead of the United States and Britain by withdrawing civilian staff from Afghanistan government institutions after two senior US Nato officers were shot dead over the weekend.

An Afghan police officer is suspected of having killed the men, who were shot inside the heavily guarded Interior Ministry on Saturday.

The US officers died in the midst of massive protests in the country, sparked by news that American soldiers had burned copies of the Qur’an, the Muslim holy book, at a military base in Kabul. US officials have called the incident a mistake and issued a series of apologies.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has also urged calm, calling on his countrymen not to let the insurgents capitalise on their indignation to spark violence.

This morning, nine people were killed by a suicide bomber at Jalalabad airport in another apparent revenge attack over the incident, Reuters reports.

Meanwhile, the UN has also issued a statement announcing that it is moving its staff from northern Afghanistan.

The UN said that the evacuation in the town of Kunduz was  temporary and that staff will be relocated elsewhere in Afghanistan until the organisation is sure the office can operate in safety.

At least three protesters died and 50 were injured in Kunduz on Saturday when crowds attacked the UN office and government buildings.

Elsewhere in the province on the following day, protesters hurled grenades at a US base, wounding seven Nato service members. Two demonstrators were killed in the ensuing clash.

Additional reporting by the AP

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