KABUL – At least three Afghans were injured Monday, October 26, when police randomly opened fire at people protesting reports about the burning of the Noble Qur’an by foreign troops. "Police fired at the crowd, one bullet hit me. I was closing my shop at the time," Sherullah, an 18-year-old man, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"They (policemen) were just firing. They were firing at the people," added Sherullah, who suffered a bullet wound to his hip.
Around 300 Afghans marched on the parliament in protest at reports that foreign troops burnt a copy of the Qur’an.
The angry protestors hurled stones at the riot police and armoured vehicles blocking their way.
Clashes erupted when the policy tried to disperse the protestors.
"They beat us up, they fired at the people," said one protestor, one side of his face covered in blood.
The Interior Ministry said that more than 15 police were also wounded in the clashes.
Dozens of protestors were also arrested.
An AFP reporter at the scene saw about three dozen people, mainly young students, herded into a police vehicle and taken away.
"We were demonstrating, we wanted to protest the burning of Qur’an by the foreign forces but the police came and started beating us," a young man, refusing to give his name, said from the back of a police vehicle.
On Sunday, protestors torched an effigy of US President Barack Obama and attacked police. Police responded by firing into the air to disperse the crowd.
The US-led foreign troops were reportedly burnt a copy of the Qur’an during an operation against the Taliban in the province of Wardak, south of Kabul, earlier this month.
The claims have been rigorously denied by NATO and Afghan authorities who say they are being falsely circulated to whip up hatred against the West.
Appeal for Calm
The protests come amid a growing resentment, even among government members, against the 100,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan.
"Is the United States a reliable partner with Afghanistan? Is the West a reliable partner with Afghanistan?" President Hamid Karzai told CNN in an interview on Sunday.
"Have we received the commitments that we were given? Have we been treated like a partner?"
The US invaded Afghanistan in 2001 on promises to promote democracy and prosperity in the central Asian Muslim country.
But eight years after the US ousted Taliban and installed a West-backed government, Afghans still lack the very basics of life.
The country is so destitute and undeveloped that most inhabitants have no central heating, electricity or running water.
The protests sparked calls from the United Nations for calm, as the country is heading for an election run-off next month.
"We want to appeal for calm,” Dan McNorton, a spokesman for the UN mission in Kabul, told AFP.
Afghans will go to polling stations on November 7 to elect a new president from among incumbent Karzai and former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah.
“We recognise that emotions are high but this issue needs to be resolved by talking not by resorting to violence,” said McNorton.
"There is nothing to indicate the demonstrations are politically motivated but we do need to recognise the constitutional right of people to demonstrate peacefully."
Source: IslamOnline
"They (policemen) were just firing. They were firing at the people," added Sherullah, who suffered a bullet wound to his hip.
Around 300 Afghans marched on the parliament in protest at reports that foreign troops burnt a copy of the Qur’an.
The angry protestors hurled stones at the riot police and armoured vehicles blocking their way.
Clashes erupted when the policy tried to disperse the protestors.
"They beat us up, they fired at the people," said one protestor, one side of his face covered in blood.
The Interior Ministry said that more than 15 police were also wounded in the clashes.
Dozens of protestors were also arrested.
An AFP reporter at the scene saw about three dozen people, mainly young students, herded into a police vehicle and taken away.
"We were demonstrating, we wanted to protest the burning of Qur’an by the foreign forces but the police came and started beating us," a young man, refusing to give his name, said from the back of a police vehicle.
On Sunday, protestors torched an effigy of US President Barack Obama and attacked police. Police responded by firing into the air to disperse the crowd.
The US-led foreign troops were reportedly burnt a copy of the Qur’an during an operation against the Taliban in the province of Wardak, south of Kabul, earlier this month.
The claims have been rigorously denied by NATO and Afghan authorities who say they are being falsely circulated to whip up hatred against the West.
Appeal for Calm
The protests come amid a growing resentment, even among government members, against the 100,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan.
"Is the United States a reliable partner with Afghanistan? Is the West a reliable partner with Afghanistan?" President Hamid Karzai told CNN in an interview on Sunday.
"Have we received the commitments that we were given? Have we been treated like a partner?"
The US invaded Afghanistan in 2001 on promises to promote democracy and prosperity in the central Asian Muslim country.
But eight years after the US ousted Taliban and installed a West-backed government, Afghans still lack the very basics of life.
The country is so destitute and undeveloped that most inhabitants have no central heating, electricity or running water.
The protests sparked calls from the United Nations for calm, as the country is heading for an election run-off next month.
"We want to appeal for calm,” Dan McNorton, a spokesman for the UN mission in Kabul, told AFP.
Afghans will go to polling stations on November 7 to elect a new president from among incumbent Karzai and former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah.
“We recognise that emotions are high but this issue needs to be resolved by talking not by resorting to violence,” said McNorton.
"There is nothing to indicate the demonstrations are politically motivated but we do need to recognise the constitutional right of people to demonstrate peacefully."
Source: IslamOnline
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