Hundreds of Danish veterans staged a silent protest in Copenhagen to protest Donald Trump's comments downplaying the role of non-US NATO troops in Afghanistan.

Veterans marched from a memorial for fallen soldiers to the embassy, carrying Danish flags and banners reading “No words,” through the streets of Copenhagen.

Once outside the US embassy, they planted Danish flags embroidered with the names of fallen Danish soldiers in plant pots outside the embassy entrance.

Onlookers cheered as the veterans and their families marched.

Organisers said the protest was also prompted by remarks regarding Greenland and the removal of Danish flags previously placed outside the embassy.

Danish forces lost 44 soldiers in Afghanistan, the highest per capita toll among coalition partners, with eight more killed in Iraq.