Afghan Gunmen Kill 11 Chinese

Hanan Habibzai

Reuters, Arab News

KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, 11 June 2004 — Gunmen in Afghanistan sprayed gunfire into the tents of sleeping Chinese workers early yesterday, killing 11 of them in one of the worst attacks on foreigners since the Taleban’s overthrow in 2001. The raid occurred 35 km south of the northern city of Kunduz, until now deemed a secure area as insurgents concentrate their attacks in Afghanistan’s south and east.

The provincial governor blamed the raid on militants bent on destabilizing the government of President Hamid Karzai by attacking foreign and Afghan troops as well as aid and reconstruction workers ahead of landmark elections in September.

The Taleban, the main guerrilla group opposed to Karzai’s government, denied responsibility. “We were not behind this, we have not done this,” said rebel spokesman Hamid Agha.

Gen. Dawood, the top military commander in Kunduz, said it was not the work of the Taleban or its allies but a disgruntled northern commander aiming to disrupt security and reconstruction. He did not name the commander.

The raid was another blow for Karzai, who is visiting the United States and faces growing instability that is undermining vital assistance missions and reconstruction in the war-shattered country of 28 million people.

“For sure, this was a politically motivated act,” said Kunduz Gov. Mohammad Omar.

“It was carried out by the enemies of Afghanistan,” he added, using a euphemism for remnants of the ousted Taleban or their allies in Al-Qaeda and forces loyal to renegade warlord and former prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

China condemned the killings as a “brutal terrorist act” but said it had no plan to pull its workers out of the country. “The Chinese side will not yield to any form of terrorism,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said.

China backed the US-led war on terror after the Sept. 11 attacks but has expressed misgivings over the war in Iraq.

Earth, a planet hungry for peace

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03).

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank, like a Python (Alquds, 1/25/03.

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