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Afghanistan |
Official: 250 Afghans Arrested After Riot |
2006-06-08 |
![]() Amrullah Saleh said that 141 Afghans remain in custody and that 52 have confessed to crimes committed during the May 29 riot, which was sparked by a deadly crash involving a U.S. military vehicle. A U.S. military spokesman, Col. Tom Collins, meanwhile, said Afghan investigators will have "full access" to U.S. equipment and to soldiers for interviews during the inquiry into the crash. Collins told a news conference that although more than 2.5 million people live in Kabul, only about 1,000 people took part in the riot. Saleh, speaking at a separate news conference, said that some people were forced to participate by small gangs wielding guns. Saleh said he could not yet say if a specific group - one opposed to the government of President Hamid Karzai, for instance - was behind the riot. He did say Afghan authorities had identified 10 people who led or encouraged the demonstrators. Collins, who was also asked if a certain group was behind the riot, said officials "know for a fact that there were agitators in the crowd who worked to incite the crowd to get them riled up." |
Posted by:Steve White |