| Submit your comments on this article |
| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Violence over sacking of Afghan governor |
| 2004-09-12 |
| It's Afghanistan. Did we expect anything else? At least two protesters were killed when supporters of a sacked Afghan governor clashed with US and Afghan security forces in the western city of Herat. According to witnesses, dozens of supporters of Ismail Khan gathered outside his home on Saturday after he was replaced as provincial governor, and began chanting slogans against the United States and President Hamid Karzai. Witnesses said shots were fired by US and Afghan security forces after their convoy was pelted with stones. Hospital officials, witnesses and police said two people were killed, four injured and four arrested. On Saturday, the Afghan Government replaced two governors, including Khan, as leaders jockey for power ahead of landmark presidential elections. The move was President Hamid Karzai's second against regional leaders who helped the United States to drive out the Taliban in 2001, but who have resisted his authority ever since. Khan, the governor of Herat, was offered a new job as minister of mines and industries, Karzai's office said in a statement. Khan was unavailable for comment. The US ambassador in Kabul said he had refused the new position. The government justified the move by citing Khan's record of bringing prosperity to the region, saying his "extensive experience ... as well as his management skills, are useful assets that must be utilised at the national level". But action against him has been expected since his forces squared off in August against those of a rival commander, Amanullah, in a burst of vicious factional fighting halted by a US-brokered ceasefire. The battles left dozens dead and fanned tension between the country's main Pashtun and Tajik ethnic groups, with stories of atrocities committed by both sides. Amanullah, a Pashtun, was detained in August after the fighting and is under house arrest in the capital. Officials said at the time that his detention was "part of a wider plan to take all necessary measures to secure long-term stability in the region". |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 But at least the sacking went off successfully. That is a major improvement over historical behaviour, right? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2004-09-12 9:21:13 AM |