Civilians Die as Taliban Fights US-Led Troops
KABUL – A sudden upsurge in Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan has seen casualties mount daily among combatants and the civilian population.
The rebels, who were ousted from power by U.S.-led coalition forces in late 2001, have regrouped in the southern provinces to ambush and strike government and military targets nearly every day.
Caught in the crossfire are civilians. Sixteen people were confirmed killed in U.S. air strikes on Taliban hideouts in a village in Kandahar province on May 22. A concerned International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned the warring sides to “exercise constant care in the conduct of military operations.”
“The ICRC is deeply concerned about the worsening situation and its effects on civilians. In particular, ICRC urges the parties (involved in conflict) to exercise constant care in the conduct of military operations,” a statement issued in Geneva on the day of the U.S. air raids stated.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has ordered an inquiry. He paid a surprise visit to Azizi village in Panjwayee district and met the survivors on May 25. The U.S. military claimed that among the dead were 60 rebels.
However, villagers told Pajhwok Afghan News that most of the victims were civilians.
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U.S. traffic accident sparks Afghan riot
KABUL, Afghanistan – A deadly traffic accident Monday involving U.S. troops sparked the worst rioting in the Afghan capital since the fall of the Taliban regime, with hundreds of protesters looting shops and shouting “Death to America!” At least eight people were killed and 107 injured, an official said.
Hundreds of Afghan army troops and NATO peacekeepers in tanks were deployed around the city, as chanting protesters marched on the presidential palace and rioters smashed police guard boxes, set fire to police cars and ransacked buildings, including the compound of aid group CARE International. Computers were set on fire and smoke billowed from the buildings, according to an Associated Press reporter.
Witnesses said that Afghan and U.S. troops opened fire to quell protesters. A U.S. spokesman said American troops shot into the air, and AP Television News video showed a machine gun on a Humvee firing over the crowd as the vehicle sped away. But a Kabul police chief said U.S. troops had fired into the crowd.
The AP reporter saw several demonstrators pull a man who appeared to be a Westerner from a civilian vehicle and beat him. The man escaped and ran to a line of police, who fired shots over the heads of the demonstrators.
The spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition expressed regret for any deaths and injuries, and said there would be an investigation. Afghan President Hamid Karzai appealed for calm, branding rioters “agitators” and saying in a national address that Afghans must stand against those who loot and destroy property.
“We will recognize as the enemy of Afghanistan these people who do these things,” he said in the televised speech. “Again, you should stand up against these agitators and not let them destroy our country again.”
Dadullah claims control of southwestern Afghanistan
DOHA: The Taliban have regained control of all southwestern provinces of Afghanistan, Al Jazeera television quoted the group commander, Mullah Dadullah, as saying.
In his first interview with Al Jazeera since reports of his arrest spread across the world last week, the Taliban leader threatened to attack North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) troops deployed in the south of the country, the channel reported.
Dadullah accused the United States of fighting Islam and Muslims. He condemned the US attack on civilians in southern Afghanistan and said that Washington viewed all Afghans as its enemies and therefore killed civilians.