enhanced_deficit
09-03-2019, 11:08 PM
A major bombing targetting fortified foreigners compound right after announcement of 'peace agreement'.. strange 'peace agreement'.
After Bombing, Afghans Demand That Foreigners Leave Their Neighborhood
Firefighters and city workers on Tuesday near a crater left by a car bomb outside Green Village, a fortified compound in Kabul.
Credit Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times
By David Zucchino and Fatima Faizi
Sept. 3, 2019
KABUL, Afghanistan — Samsor Dawlatzai, a part-time laborer, settled in after dinner Monday night to watch a television interview with the American peace envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad.
The envoy had just mentioned reaching a peace agreement “in principle” with the Taliban when Mr. Dawlatzai’s house collapsed on top of him, his family and his guests. A suicide truck bombing nearby left eight people in the house bloodied and battered, among them a 1-year-old boy, five women and a guest lacerated by flying glass as he prayed.
“What peace are you talking about?” Mr. Dawlatzai asked Tuesday, referring to Mr. Khalilzad.
Mr. Dawlatzai, 23, had the misfortune of living near Green Village, a fortified compound of foreign nationals that had been rocked by bombings in the past. The latest attack, on Monday night, destroyed or badly damaged dozens of nearby shops and homes, killing up to 30 people and wounding at least 100, security officials said. There was no immediate word on any casualties among residents of the compound.
It was the third time Mr. Dawlatzai’s home has been torn apart by a bombing aimed at Green Village, he said. He and his neighbors had had enough.
On Tuesday morning, hundreds of enraged residents surged through the streets, demanding that the foreigners in their midst vacate their neighborhood. Some protesters scaled a wall surrounding Green Village, setting fire to a guard tower and torching rows of armored SUVs in the compound’s parking area.
Orange flames shot up and plumes of black smoke twisted skyward. Some protesters burned tires, tossed flaming bottles of gasoline or threw rocks into the compound.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for Monday’s bombing, while also reaping the propaganda benefits of irate Afghans cursing and condemning foreigners. Even as the prospects for a peace deal improve, the Taliban have launched repeated attacks that kill and maim civilians — and underscore the Afghan government’s inability to protect its citizens.
A statement from the Taliban on Tuesday said the bombing was retaliation for attacks by American-backed government forces. It depicted the Taliban as protectors of Afghan civilians in the face of government and American “attacks on peoples’ villages and homes.”
“Those who criticize us for attacking Green Village must understand that there is a reaction to any action,” the statement said.
The latest attack on Green Village, which houses private security companies and contractors for nongovernmental organizations, left residents soured on a peace process some have never fully embraced. Many blamed the government.
“We’ve complained time and again to get this damn camp out of here because in each attack we suffer the most,” said Atiqullah, 30, whose forehead bore 20 stitches from lacerations inflicted when his home caved in.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/03/world/asia/kabul-bombing-afghanistan.html
After Bombing, Afghans Demand That Foreigners Leave Their Neighborhood
Firefighters and city workers on Tuesday near a crater left by a car bomb outside Green Village, a fortified compound in Kabul.
Credit Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times
By David Zucchino and Fatima Faizi
Sept. 3, 2019
KABUL, Afghanistan — Samsor Dawlatzai, a part-time laborer, settled in after dinner Monday night to watch a television interview with the American peace envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad.
The envoy had just mentioned reaching a peace agreement “in principle” with the Taliban when Mr. Dawlatzai’s house collapsed on top of him, his family and his guests. A suicide truck bombing nearby left eight people in the house bloodied and battered, among them a 1-year-old boy, five women and a guest lacerated by flying glass as he prayed.
“What peace are you talking about?” Mr. Dawlatzai asked Tuesday, referring to Mr. Khalilzad.
Mr. Dawlatzai, 23, had the misfortune of living near Green Village, a fortified compound of foreign nationals that had been rocked by bombings in the past. The latest attack, on Monday night, destroyed or badly damaged dozens of nearby shops and homes, killing up to 30 people and wounding at least 100, security officials said. There was no immediate word on any casualties among residents of the compound.
It was the third time Mr. Dawlatzai’s home has been torn apart by a bombing aimed at Green Village, he said. He and his neighbors had had enough.
On Tuesday morning, hundreds of enraged residents surged through the streets, demanding that the foreigners in their midst vacate their neighborhood. Some protesters scaled a wall surrounding Green Village, setting fire to a guard tower and torching rows of armored SUVs in the compound’s parking area.
Orange flames shot up and plumes of black smoke twisted skyward. Some protesters burned tires, tossed flaming bottles of gasoline or threw rocks into the compound.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for Monday’s bombing, while also reaping the propaganda benefits of irate Afghans cursing and condemning foreigners. Even as the prospects for a peace deal improve, the Taliban have launched repeated attacks that kill and maim civilians — and underscore the Afghan government’s inability to protect its citizens.
A statement from the Taliban on Tuesday said the bombing was retaliation for attacks by American-backed government forces. It depicted the Taliban as protectors of Afghan civilians in the face of government and American “attacks on peoples’ villages and homes.”
“Those who criticize us for attacking Green Village must understand that there is a reaction to any action,” the statement said.
The latest attack on Green Village, which houses private security companies and contractors for nongovernmental organizations, left residents soured on a peace process some have never fully embraced. Many blamed the government.
“We’ve complained time and again to get this damn camp out of here because in each attack we suffer the most,” said Atiqullah, 30, whose forehead bore 20 stitches from lacerations inflicted when his home caved in.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/03/world/asia/kabul-bombing-afghanistan.html