One person was killed and 10 others wounded last week when gunfire broke out during a demonstration in a city at the center of factional fighting in Afghanistan, U.N. officials said Sunday. The rally on Thursday in Maymana, the capital of Faryab province 260 miles northwest of Kabul, "turned ugly," said United Nations spokesman Manoel de Almeida e Silva. "There was indeed some shooting."
| It's Afghanistan. They can't make breakfast without shooting... |
He said four more people were injured Saturday in a clash between rock-throwing supporters and opponents of Abdul Rashid Dostum, a powerful northern warlord. The U.N. figures were the first confirmation of casualties in the province, which the Kabul government says was temporarily overrun last week by troops and supporters of Dostum. Karzai has vowed to reinstate the Kabul-appointed governor, who fled an angry crowd outside his residence Thursday. The provincial military commander also was driven out after many of his soldiers apparently turned against him. Both officials say they were targeted because of their loyalty to Karzai rather than Dostum. |