Protesters in Copenhagen rally for Danish veterans after Trump Afghanistan ‘insult’
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Protesters and veterans on Jan 31 planted Danish flags embroidered with the names of soldiers who died in Afghanistan and Iraq outside the US embassy in Copenhagen.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Danes protested Trump's comments that European allies weren't on the "front lines" in Afghanistan, following his Greenland annexation demand.
- Protesters, including veterans like Niels Christian Koefoed and Jesper Larsen, planted flags and read names of fallen Danish soldiers.
- Denmark, a key ally with 44 deaths, felt insulted; Keir Starmer called Trump's remarks "insulting and frankly appalling."
AI generated
COPENHAGEN - Hundreds of Danes gathered outside the US Embassy in Copenhagen on Jan 31 in support of veterans who said they had been insulted by President Donald Trump’s comment that European allies had kept “off the front lines” in the Afghanistan war.
Denmark - with a population less than 2 per cent the size of the US - was one of the major combat allies in the US-led war in Afghanistan, losing 44 service members killed, a per capita death toll on par with that of the Americans themselves.
Mr Trump had already antagonised Danes by demanding the annexation of Greenland,
The remarks sparked widespread backlash from Europeans, with Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer calling them “insulting and frankly appalling”.
Mr Trump subsequently singled out British troops for praise,
“Behind all these flags, there’s a guy, there’s a soldier, there’s a young man,” said retired Danish Lieutenant-Colonel Niels Christian Koefoed, who served in Afghanistan, as demonstrators planted Danish flags embroidered with the names of the deceased outside the US Embassy.
The protesters, many wearing medals received for their NATO service, marched to the embassy, where the names of Danish soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq were read aloud.
The event concluded with a moment of silence.
“I lost a very close friend and colleague of mine,” said Afghanistan veteran Jesper Larsen.
“So I was hurt by what Mr Trump said, and I think he owes all my combat friends an apology.” REUTERS
