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| Afghanistan |
| 4 dead in attack on Norwegian peacekeepers in Afghanistan |
| 2006-02-07 |
| Afghan police opened fire on a mob trying to storm a NATO peacekeeping base housing Norwegian troops on Tuesday, killing four people as protests over cartoons depicting Islam's Prophet Mohammad flared again. British troops were sent to the northwestern town of Maymana to secure the airfield after crowds attacked a NATO base with guns and grenades. 'Police had to open fire. Some people are aiming to disrupt and disturb security,' said Azim Hakimi, spokesman for the provincial security department. 'Some people used guns,' he said. As well as the four dead, 18 people were wounded, he said. At least nine people have been killed in protests linked to the controversy over the cartoons- in Somalia, Lebanon and seven in Afghanistan. The cartoons were first published in a Danish newspaper in September but European newspapers reignited controversy last week when they reprinted them in a show of support for press freedom. In Maymana, crowds of young men threw stones, grenades and petrol bombs at the camp manned by Norwegian troops. Five Norwegians were slightly hurt, Norway said. A Dutch peacekeeper was hurt by a stone during a protest in Baghlan, also in the north, the provincial governor said. The heavily outnumbered Norwegians fired teargas, rubber bullets and warning shots while NATO F-16 jets flew over Maymana in a show of force. Order had been restored by early evening. 'The Afghan national police have things under control,' a spokeswoman for the NATO force said. A British quick reaction force was being sent from their base in the nearby city of Mazar-i-Sharif, but spokesmen for NATO's International Security Assistance Force declined to say how many troops were involved. Norwegian defence forces chief Sverre Diesen told Reuters in Oslo the British force was a 'company-sized formation' and had landed by helicopter in Maymana. A German C-160 transport aircraft was ready to evacuate the force but Diesen said there was no immediate plan to pull the soldiers out, other than those requiring medical attention. Norwegian Defence Minister Anne-Grete Stroem-Erichsen called the situation 'very serious' but she offered Norway's continued support for ISAF. The United Nations said non-essential staff were being evacuated from the city. U.N. and aid groups offices were attacked during bloody riots in May sparked by a Newsweek magazine report about desecration of the Koran. There were also protests in Jalalabad in the east, Herat in the west and the capital, Kabul, where for a second day crowds of young men stoned the Danish embassy before club-wielding police beat them off. Windows of nearby houses were smashed. At least three Afghans were killed in protests in different parts of the country on Monday. Across the border in Pakistan, about 5,000 Islamists paraded through Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier Province, which is ruled by an Islamist coalition made up of several pro-Taliban groups. Another 5,000 people rallied in North Waziristan, a restive tribal region that has been the scene of battles between Pakistani security forces and al Qaeda-linked militants in recent years. The protests in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province were the largest since the begining of the controversy. 'Islam is being defamed through such cartoons. It is a terrorist act,' said provincial chief minister Akram Durrani, who led the rally. 'Those responsible for publishing such cartoons must be punished under international law.' |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #4 these yahoos were stirred up by a Taliban or Iranian-supporting Imam - follow the trail and kill em |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-02-07 15:19 |
| #3 'Police had to open fire. Some people are aiming to disrupt and disturb security,' "Snip" 'Some people used guns,' he said. "Snip" It's about goddamn time, when the Muzzies start dying, the survivors will quit their "Demonstrating" quickly |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2006-02-07 13:23 |
| #2 When a flock of Muzzies gets out of hand, I say execute their imam. Padlock the doors to the mosque and suspend the daily broadcasts of required prayers. Remember, a mind is a terrible thing to waste. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2006-02-07 13:13 |
| #1 This is the victory the MM were looking for when they started this campaign. It looks like thier best shot to get the Afghans to turn away from Democracy. What is interesting is that it has had little impact in Iraq. However, the Sunnis are stirring every pot they can there. It is going to get tough for the Brits. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-02-07 12:43 |