7 Afghanis Killed During Protest Against NATO Forces for Desecration of the Holy Qur'an

Seven dead in Afghanistan Koran protest shooting

by Nasrat Shoib Nasrat Shoib –

Wed Jan 13, 2010, 11:14 am ET

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) –

Seven people were killed during protests in Afghanistan sparked by rumours foreign troops had desecrated the Islamic Holy Book, the Qur'an (Koran), an official said Wednesday, blaming Taliban for inciting the unrest.

Investigators sent to the southern province of Helmand found that no desecration of the Muslim holy book had taken place in the military operation Monday, said Daud Ahmadi, spokesman for the provincial governor.

The probe also found that only Afghan intelligence officers had opened fire at the protest the following day, not foreign soldiers.

"All the responsibility lies with the Taliban as it was the Taliban who incited the incident," he said, citing the report, which was completed Wednesday and accused Taliban of starting the rumours about the Koran.

"Neither international forces nor any American soldiers were involved in the firing. They arrived on the scene during the fray and protesters threw stones at them. There was no shooting at this stage," he said.

"Only intelligence officers opened fire."

The investigation, ordered by Gulab Mangal, the governor of Helmand, followed earlier reports that nine people were killed and up to 15 wounded in gunfire during the demonstration on Tuesday by hundreds of people in Gamsir district.

Officers of Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security (NDS) had fired on demonstrators in self-defence after one intelligence officer was shot dead in gunfire that came from the protesters, Ahmadi said.

"A total of six demonstrators were killed and around 10 were wounded," he said.

"Anyone with a gun was not a demonstrator, he was a Taliban militant."

The demonstrators had descended on the local NDS office after word spread that foreign soldiers had desecrated a Koran during an operation against Taliban-linked drug dealers on Monday, Ahmadi said.

The crowd attacked the building in an attempt to free the prisoners, he said, adding that the shooting started during this melee.

The investigators found that when foreign soldiers arrived on the scene they were pelted with stones by the demonstrators, but did not open fire, he said.

"The protesters fired at intelligence officials, killing one. The intelligence officials fired back in self defence," he told AFP, citing the report.

Earlier, NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said it had no information to back up claims of civilian deaths in the incident, but that during the protest, "an insurgent sniper shot an Afghan official who was within FOB (Forward Operating Base) Delhi in Garmsir district".

"ISAF service members identified the insurgent sniper, shot and killed him. There were no other injuries or shots fired," it added.

Civilian casualties are a sensitive issue in Afghanistan, used by President Hamid Karzai to criticise his backers in the international community and boost support for his unpopular government.

They are routinely used by the Taliban in its sophisticated propaganda war to whip up public hostility towards the 113,000 troops fighting the insurgency under US and NATO command, set to rise to 150,000 this year.

Most civilian deaths in the war however are caused by Taliban attacks, which include suicide bombings and remote-control bombs that are exacting a huge toll on foreign and Afghan troops as well.

The United Nations released a report Wednesday that found civilians killed in the war jumped last year to 2,412, making 2009 the deadliest year for ordinary Afghans since the 2001 US-led invasion toppled the Taliban regime. Related article: 2009 deadliest year for Afghan civilians, says UN.

The vast majority of the dead were killed in Taliban attacks, the UN's Mission for Afghanistan said. By comparison, 2,118 civilians were killed in 2008.

Civilian deaths caused by Western troops fell 28 percent last year compared to the year before, it said, attributing the drop to measures taken specifically to protect civilians.

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