An shopkeeper clears shattered wondow glass from the pavement in front of a supermarket in Kabul. Armoured vehicles and soldiers are patrolling the streets of Kabul as the Afghan capital began assessing the damage and cleaning up after a day of rioting that left at least 14 people dead
(AFP) |
Armoured vehicles and soldiers are patrolling the streets of Kabul as the Afghan capital began assessing the damage and cleaning up after a day of rioting that left at least 14 people dead.
Parliament met in a secret special session to discuss security in the volatile nation in light of Monday's events, in which scores of buildings were torched, looted and damaged.
Police and soldiers were on alert for more demonstrations but reported no disturbances during a six-hour overnight curfew. The streets were emptier than usual as some residents appeared to be waiting before venturing out.
The city's large expatriate community, many employed in the aid groups that set up here after the fall of the Taliban government in 2001, were taking particular care after some offices of foreign-based groups were attacked.
"I went to the office this morning to collect the money in case we have to leave in a hurry," said an employee with a US engineering firm.
The offices of Care International were torched while those of other groups such as Oxfam were looted in the violence, the worst in the city since the Taliban were ousted.
"We are taking inventory about what has been destroyed," Care International country director Paul Barker said.
Dozens of computers were demolished along with four office containers, he said, with the damage likely to run into hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"They attacked everything that was written in English," said Frederic Roussel, director of the French organisation ACTED, whose offices suffered tens of thousands of dollars in damage.
"I saw them attack a pizzeria simply because it had a sign written in English," he said.
Police and others said much of the destruction was caused by looters and criminals. Police arrested 13 people on suspicion of theft, said interior ministry spokesman Yousuf Stanizai.
"Today police are still everywhere and they have full control of the situation," he said.
In an address to the nation, President Hamid Karzai said "opportunists and agitators" were responsible for much of the unrest.
Afghan security forces managed to restore order by late Monday afternoon after around 1,500 rioters rampaged through the streets, some shouting "Death to America".
The unrest was sparked by a traffic accident involving a US military truck, which slammed into civilian vehicles killing around five people.
A crowd that gathered at the site started pelting the soldiers with stones, prompting them to open fire.
The US-led coalition says the troops fired over the crowd but witnesses said their bullets killed at least four people although this was not confirmed. Afghan police also opened fire at the scene.
It was impossible to say how many people were killed in the violence but six of the main hospitals in the city said they had 14 bodies and more than 140 wounded from the unrest.
"Everybody is giving a different picture. Some people were exaggerating (about the fatalities)," said Nader Nadery, from the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission.
Monday's violence was surprising because it erupted so quickly, said Anja de Beer, director of the Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief.
But she added: "We knew that under the surface there is a lot of discontent that does not need much ignition to flare up."
Many Afghans complain that they have seen little benefit from the billions of dollars that have poured into Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, with unemployment high and government salaries low.
Political analyst Waheed Mujda said the violence was a reflection of indignation about the arrogance of US forces in the country.
"The American soldiers are behaving pretty much against the culture and the beliefs of the people... this will cost Mr Karzai," he said.
