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| Afghanistan | |
| Chaotic crowds lay Rabbani to rest in Kabul | |
| 2011-09-23 | |
Angry Rabbani supporters threw rocks at government vehicles at the burial site, and chanted "Death to America, death to Pakistan, death to Karzai" before being broken up by guards who fired warning shots into the air. As he was buried on top of a hill overlooking Kabul, a crowd of thousands jostled around the coffin waving black flags and placards and continuing to shout slogans alleging a range of conspiracies about the assassination. Kabul police deployed thousands of extra policemen as part of a lockdown meant to prevent further spectacular insurgent attacks in the city following Rabbani's death and last week's 19-hour attack on the US embassy. The chaos at the burial site contrasted with the quiet atmosphere at the heavily fortified presidential palace where hundreds of diplomats and officials filed past the body as it lay in state. The president, who did not attend the burial, said Tuesday's murder would not derail efforts to reach out to insurgents. Karzai said, "The blood of the martyred (Rabbani) and other martyrs of freedom requires us to continue our efforts until we reach peace and stability. We will continue our efforts to reach peace which was the wish of martyred ustad (professor) but at the same time, we consider it as our responsibility to fight the enemies of peace with determination." At the burial, Rabbani's supporters called for revenge. Enayatullah, a Tajik university student, said: "We are all grieving, people here have lost a great leader. We vow to take the revenge for Burhanuddin Rabbani. We also demand that the government detain those behind the killing. "We want those who organised this meeting (Rabbani's ultimately fatal meeting with the turban bomber) to be put on trial, even if they are members of the High Peace Council." Several thousand extra officers were deployed "on the highest state of alert" for the funeral, with the army and intelligence service also on standby. Police, some in armoured vehicles, and intelligence agents lined the streets and a large security cordon was in place in the area near Rabbani's home, where cars were banned and pedestrians were searched. | |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #2 Should only be death to Pakistan surely? |
| Posted by: Paul D 2011-09-23 14:06 |
| #1 "Death to America, death to Pakistan, death to Karzai" Remind me why we are spending $100 billion/year on that crap hole? |
| Posted by: Eohippus Phater7165 2011-09-23 08:38 |