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Protests Erupt Over Afghan Civilian Casualties
[Quqnoos] There have been protests over the reported deaths of 10 civilians in a foreign military operation in eastern Afghanistan.President Hamid Karzai says 10 people, including eight children, were killed by US-led forces in Kunar province on Saturday. The US military and NATO have not confirmed whether the incident took place. Hundreds of people, including university students, blocked the main roads in Jalalabad, shouting "death to Obama" and calling for an investigation into the deaths. "The government must prevent such unilateral operations otherwise we will take guns instead of pens and fight against them [foreign forces]," students from the University of Nangahar's education faculty said in a statement. "Our demonstration is against those foreigners who have come to our country," student organiser Safiullah Aminzai said. "They have not brought democracy to Afghanistan but they are killing our religious scholars and children." Yesterday, the United Nations announced that the number of civilians killed in the war in Afghanistan is up by 10 per cent compared to last year. Figures released by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) put civilian deaths in the Afghan war at 2,038 for the first 10 months of 2009, up from 1,838 for the same period of 2008 -- an increase of 10.8 percent. Civilian deaths at the hands of foreign forces fuel distrust between the Afghan population, the government and US and NATO troops, even though most of the deaths are caused by insurgent tactics such as homemade bombs. Posted by: Fred 2009-12-31 |
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