KABUL (AP) — Thousands of Afghans shouting ”Death to America!” protested the killings of children Thursday, the latest in a string of controversial cases in which international forces have been blamed for civilian deaths.
NATO troops were among those killed in Wednesday’s blast, which the Afghan Interior Ministry attributed to a detonated roadside mine. However, Afghans were already enraged by accusations of execution-style killing of children by foreign forces in late December, and the taint of that incident made the protesters more than willing to attribute blame to coalition forces:
On Wednesday, an explosion tore through a group of children gathered around foreign soldiers visiting a U.S.-funded road project in Nangarhar province, east of the capital of Kabul. Afghan officials said four children were killed. NATO said two died.
Minutes after the blast, local residents were accusing American forces of throwing a grenade into the crowd — even though several international troops were among the wounded. The Afghan Interior Ministry later released a statement saying the explosion occurred when a passing police vehicle hit a mine.
Still, an estimated 5,000 protesters demonstrated the deaths Thursday along a road between Kabul and Jalalabad in Nangarhar. They waved a banner condemning the attack, set fire to an effigy of President Barack Obama and chanted ”Long live Islam!” and ”Death to Obama!”
This is the latest in a series of protests against foreign troops that erupted across Afghanistan over the past several weeks. Protests erupted in late December in Kabul and Jalalabad over the killing of children by foreign forces in Ghazi Khan in late December. In early December, hundreds of Afghans protested in Mehtar Lam after an airstrike reportedly killed 12 civilians (NATO initially denied the deaths and then had to walk it back pending investigations, as usual).
According to a recent report by the Afghanistan Rights Monitor, an average of three children are killed per day by the Afghanistan war.
Time to leave. Now, not 2011. Canada should have pulled out before this but Harper is hiding from the public.
Nothing to be concerned about. They're only kids. There's no better way to earn the hearts and minds of Afghanis other than getting the hell out of there before the shit really hits the fan!
If these douche bags want to blame someone for the death of their children, start with their own citizens planting roadside bombs. How is that the fault of the US? Stupid fucking waste of life muslims will find any excuse to blame America, instead of themselves for being led around by a phony god.
dude, which afghans you talking about? the ones we're rebuilding houses and schools for or the ones who just want us to leave or the ones who scream death to America? could you be a bit more specific in your blanket statements? be careful, your rhetoric sounds kinda like the people who shout “death to America” — which America? Atheist pacifists? Christians against the war? right wingers for the war? see my point?
HEY AFGHAN BITE ME GO SIT ON YOUR OWN ROADSIDE BOMB YOU FUCKING IDIOT!! SEE WHAT I MEAN ABOUT STUPID CLUELESS MERRIKANS! SHOVE IT UP YOUR ASS YOU STUPID FUCK!
It's weird, its almost as if they don't want us there.
What a bunch of American idiots on this site. Don't want to see what our “gift” of democracy is really bringing? Besides bankruptcy to the US and loss of our young men and women, it is earning us even more hatred in the muslim world as innocent civilians are killed and bombed. Afghanistan is a hell hole — the sooner we get out, the better. Red, white and blue — these colors don't run the world, as much as you may want them to.
I HOPE THAT VETERANS FOR PEACE, CODE PINK AND OTHER GROUPS WILL COORDINATE THEIR EFFORTS TO STOP THE BOMBING. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US USE VEGETABLES AS BOMBS-DROP WATERMELONS, SQUASH, TOMATOES, AND OPENED SEEDS. SEND GROUPS OF ANTI-WAR ACTIVISTS, INVITE AFGHANS HERE–CAPTURE BAD GUYS ONE BY ONE AND DO NOT SHOW THEM ON TV FOR WEEKS. BOMB WITH VEGETABLES!
you all are retards if you think president has to stop the war! Zionists influence US war machine! the owners of USA rockefellers,rotchilds,bilderberg group, they say, who, when, how…USA didn't have president after JFK, maybe one or two who were two scared to DO smth to end up like JK!
what I say is if leaders want war, let them fight it out everybody else protest against it.
I dont like sand niggers,there rude people,I say that america should of never gone over there,let them kill each other thats all they know.