Sudan Rejects U.S. Request to Send Special Forces

Sudan has rejected a U.S. request to send special forces to protect its embassy in Khartoum following violent protests against an American-made film mocking Islam, the official SUNA news agency said.

"The U.S. government has expressed its wish to send special forces to protect its embassy in Khartoum after the events that took place in most Muslim countries," SUNA quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying.

But Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Karti "refused to accommodate these forces," he added.

The United States had made the request on Friday "during a phone call between a deputy of the U.S. secretary of state (Hillary Clinton)" and Karti, said the spokesman.

The minister had explained his decision by saying that Sudan was capable of "protecting its guests in diplomatic representations," he added.

The Pentagon has said it is examining the possibility of sending Marines to Sudan after deploying them in Yemen and Libya, where ambassador Chris Stevens was among four Americans killed in an attack on a U.S. consulate on Tuesday.

The violence broke out during protests against a U.S.-produced film deemed offensive to Islam.