Canadian embassies in Egypt, Sudan and Libya remained closed on Sunday in the wake of attacks on Western interests abroad and violent protests over an anti-Islam film.

Foreign Affairs Canada announced the closures late Saturday, hours after the U.S. State Department's decision to pull all non-essential personnel out of its embassies in Tunis, Tunisia, and Khartoum, Sudan, which were attacked Friday.

"Canadians residing in or travelling to areas where anti-Western violence could occur are advised to exercise a high degree of caution, monitor local news, avoid public gatherings and demonstrations, and stay away from areas where they may take place, as they could turn violent without warning," the government said in a statement.

The embassy in Cairo, just half a kilometre from the U.S. Embassy, has been closed since midday Thursday after violent protests erupted in Tahrir Square over an amateur video, posted on the Internet under several titles including “Innocence of Muslims,” which mocked the Prophet Muhammad and portrayed him as a womanizer and a fool.

The filmmaker, who used the pseudonym Sam Bacile and originally claimed to be Israeli, is an American.

Anti-U.S. protests that swept across the Middle East and other Muslim countries last week continued Sunday in the Turkish capital of Ankara, and in the Pakistani city of Lahore and Karachi and Hyderabad.
An attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11 left Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans dead.

Foreign Affairs cautions Canadians against non-essential travel to Libya, and against all travel to Benghazi and the Sabha and Kufra regions "due to the unpredictable security situation."

In Los Angeles, 55-year-old Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, was taken in for questioning by police Saturday and released about 30 minutes later. The California man convicted of bank fraud has denied reports he was involved in the making of the film.

--with files from Reuters