Afghans demonstrate against US killing civilians

This video is called US War Crimes In Mazar (Afghanistan) – Documentary reported by Jamie Doran.

Reuters reports:

Afghans protest killing of two by U.S.-led troops

12/31/2006

JALALABAD – Scores of people protested in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday over the killing of two civilians and the arrest of three by U.S.-led troops, officials and witnesses said.

The governor of Nangarhar province, Gul Agha Sherzai, told reporters troops from a U.S.-led force killed the pair in a pre-dawn raid. Three people had been detained, he said.

“The raid took place without consultation with us,” Sherzai said.

A spokesman for the U.S. military said he was not aware of any such incident.

Civilian deaths are a sensitive matter for the Western-backed government and the foreign troops supporting it.

President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly urged foreign troops to do all they can to avoid civilian casualties while battling and hunting for militants.

The protesters took to the streets of the provincial capital, Jalalabad, calling on the government stop foreign troops carrying out operations without the consent of Afghan authorities and village elders.

The demonstration was peaceful.

…

This year has been the bloodiest since U.S.-led forces overthrew the Taliban government in 2001.

There were also demonstrations outside Jalalabad about this case.

A note on this: Western media tend to indiscriminately describe any opposition to US troops or their allies in Afghanistan as ‘Taliban’.

This is just wrong.

Especially the city of Jalalabad has a Leftist tradition.

There have been demonstrations there before, like against torture of Afghan and other prisoners in Guantanamo Bay camp.

It is time for Western journalists to realise that such demonstrators are not necessarily motivated by love for the Taleban; but that they simply may not like occupation; killing of civilians; torture; etc.

That also moderate Muslims do not approve of prisoners’ korans’ abuse; etc.

Related articles

• US opposes release of Afghan prisoners (terminalx.org)
• US ‘long-term interests’ in Afghanistan (rinf.com)