Afghan Protest Turns Violent (Civilians set fire to 10+ fuel tankers)

[tekisui]

Source: Washington Post

KABUL -- Protesters angered by killings during an early morning military operation set fire to NATO supply vehicles in Logar province on Sunday, amid differing claims about whether the men killed were civilians or insurgents.

In the early morning darkness, a joint U.S. and Afghan patrol killed three people and arrested two others in the village of Nasir near the Logar provincial capital, according to Afghan officials. A NATO statement said the men were shot when they displayed "hostile intent," and that one of those captured was a low-level Taliban commander who planned suicide bombings.

But a few hours after dawn, more than 100 people had gathered on a main road and insisted the slain men were innocent civilians. The furious crowd blocked traffic and set fire to at least 10 fuel tankers using hand grenades, said provincial police chief Ghulam Mustafa Moisini. By midday, the fire was still raging and neighbors evacuated their homes.

"If they were insurgents, why are the people so angry?" asked provincial government spokesman Din Mohammad Darwish. While he did not know if the men killed and captured were Taliban or not, he said that in past killings, people are "careful about doing these kinds of protests" if the men were Taliban fighters.

In the past, including once last week, NATO officials have reversed their initial claims that those they'd killed were insurgents, and admitted they were civilians.

Among the rumors swirling about the situation was that U.S. soldiers had taken away the bodies of the three men killed, further angering their relatives. While two Logar officials, including the police chief made this claim, Darwish said it was not true and the bodies were present during the protest.

more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/25/AR2010042500850.html

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Our carelessness is wedding the people to the insurgents.

[ensho]

1. ten trucks, wow. wasn't it last year that a bunch of gas tanker trucks

were set on fire there too?

[unhappycamper]

2. And this is one of the reasons gas costs $400 a gallon delivered to Afghanistan. n/t

[ensho]

3. our military doesn't care, Congress gives them plenty of our money

nt

[unhappycamper]

4. Current count is over a trillion dollars a year. n/t