The Hindu : International : Three more Afghans die as anti-U.S. protests spread

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Friday, May 13, 2005

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International

Three more Afghans die as anti-U.S. protests spread

Demonstrations in 10 provinces over desecration

KABUL: Three more persons were killed in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday in protests against the alleged abuse of the Koran by U.S. personnel at the Guantanamo Bay prison, raising the death toll from three days of unrest to seven, officials said.

Two persons were killed during demonstrations in Khagyani, a town just northwest of Jalalabad, Deputy Governor of Nangarhar province Mohammad Asif Qazizada said. Four persons died in Jalalabad on Wednesday.

``Two demonstrators died and one was seriously injured in Khogyani district today after armed protestors opened fire at police,'' Mr. Qazizada said.

The other person died in Chak district of Wardak province, Interior Ministry spokesman Lutfullah Mashal said.

Police attacked

``Demonstrators attacked the Chak district police headquarters and set fire to its weapons stock. The explosion killed one demonstrator and wounded four others,'' said Mr. Mashal.

The demonstrations have now spread to 10 provinces in Afghanistan, with total casualties of at least seven dead and 76 injured.

On Thursday, there were repeated demonstrations in the capital Kabul as well as the provinces of Nangarhar, Parwan, Kapisa, Takhar and Logar. The protests were sparked by allegations in Newsweek magazine last week that interrogators at the U.S. military detention centre in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, desecrated the Koran. Several hundred students shouting ``Death to America'' held a peaceful protest outside Kabul University but in other areas of the country demonstrations turned violent. ``The people who have done this action should be punished ... We are ready to continue our strong demonstrations in all universities in Afghanistan,'' said a student Manan Shiewa.

Angry villagers, some armed, confronted police in a district southwest of Jalalabad, witnesses said. Villagers fired into the air but there were no casualties.

Protesters in Logar province, just south of Kabul, threw stones and damaged police vehicles, but there were no reports of injuries.

The United States has sought to defuse the anger over the Koran report by emphasising its own outrage and promising that the allegation would be investigated.

``A desecration of religious texts and objects is repugnant to common values and anathema to the American people,'' State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.

Agencies, AP

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