WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama has called U.S. diplomats at a number of American missions in the Arab world in an effort to reassure them amid the latest wave of anti-American protests in the region, a White House spokesman said on Monday.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters that over the weekend, Obama called American chiefs of mission in Sudan, Tunisia, Libya and Yemen to let them know that he was thinking about them and reassure them that the security of the U.S. diplomats is his " top priority."
"This is something that's on his mind even as he has some responsibilities as a candidate for reelection," he said during a press gaggle en route to Cincinnati, Ohio.
Anti-American protests broke out in the Arab world recently over an alleged U.S.-made movie that insults Prophet Mohammed.
On Tuesday, protesters and gunmen stormed the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya and set fire to the U.S. mission building, which led to the killings of the U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and three other embassy staffers.
Muslim protesters also stormed the U.S. embassies in Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia and Sudan in past days. The U.S. State Department on Saturday ordered non-essential staff to leave Sudan and Tunisia.
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