Afghan authorities investigate traffic accident that sparked riots KABUL: The cleric told about 10,000 worshipers that Afghans made one mistake in their anti-American riots Monday. They should never have looted any Afghan shops. "I’m telling you, if you want to put pressure, put it on the Americans," Maulavi Enayatullah Baligh thundered during Friday prayers at Kabul’s largest mosque. "If you want to fight, fight them. If you want to burn, burn them." His sermon underlined how anti-Western feelings have boiled over since a U.S. military cargo truck lost control and hit 12 vehicles during rush-hour traffic Monday morning. During the following riots, at least 20 Afghans were killed and 160 injured. Dozens of buildings, many linked to international aid groups, were burned and looted, causing millions of dollars in damage. Rumors spread through the city that the U.S. soldiers were drinking alcohol and dancing on the convoy trucks after the accident. That such rumors were false did not stop people from believing them. On Friday, police and national army soldiers brandished riot shields at intersections and made sure that any volatile Friday prayers did not spark further protests. A nightly curfew continued, and by Friday evening, all seemed quiet in Kabul. Street carts sold mangos and ice cream. Children played soccer. The Afghan government said it would begin investigating the traffic accident Saturday, and the U.S. military said it would cooperate. But Monday’s riots showed how quickly things can change in Afghanistan. These were the worst riots to strike the country since the Taliban fled in late 2001. They proved that the country’s capital, once thought to be the safest place in Afghanistan, is not immune to violence. The Taliban, still fighting an insurgency in the south and east, are not the only threat to the country’s security. In contrast with Iraq, the fight here has always been the good war, the one in which Americans were welcomed, the one that has made progress. But the riots Monday show how much that perception has changed. The traffic accident may have been the spark, but Afghans are increasingly frustrated with their government, the economy and the perceived lack of progress by the international community, especially the Americans. "During the protests, I yelled, `Death to America,’" said Abdul Fatah, 24, who sells plastic water containers in a Kabul stall. "I’m still saying, `Death to America.’ Death to America right now." Many observers say the targets in the riot had been selected earlier by organizers just waiting for an excuse to strike. Rioters attacked guesthouses used by the International Organization for Migration, the United Nations and International Relief and Development. They set fire to a banner of President Hamid Karzai. They torched a well-known brothel, Escalades, where foreigners once drank alcohol and played pool. They broke into the compound of CARE International, setting the main building on fire and causing $123,000 in damage to equipment. At one point, an Afghan looter grabbed a fair-skinned girl from the CARE kindergarten and threatened to throw her into the fire. When she screamed in the Afghan language of Dari, she was released. Paul Barker, the country director for CARE who has worked in Afghanistan for 8 1/2 years, said he had never seen tensions this bad. "The targeting of aid agencies has really increased in the past few months," said Barker, adding that CARE was committed to stay. "There could come a point where it becomes unbearable. This underscores what a tinderbox Afghanistan has become." Kabul has turned into a two-tiered city. With billions of dollars in aid pouring in, some Afghans have found well-paying jobs with international companies. But most labor for only a dollar or two a day and live in mud-brick homes with no water and sporadic electricity. An average police officer or teacher is lucky to earn $60 a month. A nurse at the Emergency Hospital in Kabul earns $40 a month. At the same time, demand for housing has skyrocketed, with international groups willing to pay Manhattan-level rents, pricing many Afghans out of the market. Before the Taliban fell, Fatah paid about $13 a month to rent a house. After the Taliban, Fatah’s rent jumped so high that his family had to move. Now an international aid agency pays $2,500 for the building. The price of everything has increased. Leeks cost three times as much as they did five years ago. A cucumber costs 10 cents, 10 times as much as before the Taliban fell. "There are so many people who have no change in their incomes since the Taliban," Fatah said. "It’s very difficult for them to afford this." Afghans are not just frustrated with the economy. They also are chafing more and more over the behavior of the international community, and not just U.S. military convoys. Land cruisers with dark windows speed through traffic circles. Brothels staffed by Chinese women have mushroomed throughout the city. Markets now sell beer, although alcohol is forbidden in the constitution. Foreigners pay $11 for foie gras at a French restaurant with a pool; Afghans are not allowed as customers, unless they have a foreign passport. A 5-star hotel in Kabul charges about $250 a night. In his sermon Friday, Baligh asked God to curse the country’s enemies from America, Pakistan, China and Russia. In response, the crowd shouted, "Accept our prayer" and then "God is great." "We are saying this to our government, that you know this is a Muslim nation, why do you let these foreigners cause anger here?" Baligh said. "We are Muslim. We do not want alcohol stores in our country. We do not want illegal movies in our country. We don’t want illegal actions in our country. "And if this happens, this will cause more anger in our country. We will face the same thing we did on Monday."