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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| 3 tribesmen, policeman killed in Chaman clash |
| 2004-08-01 |
| Four people, including a police constable, were killed in a shootout between police and unidentified attackers in Chaman near the Pak-Afghan border following the arrest of tribal chief Jillani Khan Achakzai, police and witnesses said on Saturday. "A police patrol was attacked by tribesmen travelling in two cars late on Friday night," Police Officer Malik Arshad told reporters. "A policeman was killed in the firing as was one of the attackers when police returned fire," Arshad said. Two passers-by were also killed in the crossfire, witnesses said. "Four people, including a policeman, have died from bullet injuries," said civil hospital doctor Abdul Malik. Local tribesmen protested the arrest of Jillani Khan Achakzai, tribal leader and the Awami National Party central joint secretary, who was booked in a sedition case for criticising government policies, said Balochistan Home Secretary Abdur Rauf Khan. Tribesmen loyal to Achakzai called a strike in Chaman on Saturday and blocked the highway to the southern Afghanistan town of Spin Boldak and also disrupted a rail link to Quetta, witnesses said. The protesters stopped the passenger train at gunpoint, they added. The road blockage left hundreds of vehicles and trucks laden with fruits from Kandahar, stranded on the Quetta-Chaman Road. |
| Posted by:Fred |