“Down with Obama”: Afghan Villagers Protest Night Raids
Hundreds of villagers have blocked a highway in eastern Afghanistan to protest a night raid by Nato and Afghan soldiers that left two people dead, according to Reuters.
Villagers have staged similar protests in recent months, including one in Nangarhar in May.
A statement from the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) claimed two "Taliban insurgents" were killed in the raid in a district near Jalalabad, but villagers said the men were civilians.
Their protest temporarily closed the highway connecting Jalalabad to Pakistan on Wednesday.
Many of the protesters chanted anti-American slogans, like "down with Obama" and "down with foreign forces," during the hours-long protest.
The protest mirrored a similar demonstration last week, when Nato and Afghan forces raided a house in Wardak province. Neighbours said the night raid killed three civilians, and hundreds of them took to the streets to protest the following afternoon.
General Stanley McChrystal, the former commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan, issued a classified directive earlier this year calling on troops to limit their use of night raids, which routinely result in civilian casualties, yet to no avail.
Comments
- Related News
