US and Afghan Forces Fire on Rioters

29/05/2006| IslamWeb

US and Afghan forces fired on protesters in the Afghan capital after a riot erupted on Monday because of a traffic accident involving US troops, police and eyewitnesses said.
Three people were killed in the accident, and a fourth was killed by gunfire, they said.
Aljazeera's correspondent in the capital, Kabul, said at least 20 were killed or wounded. An Aljazeera cameraman was injured in the riot.
A Kabul police chief, Sher Shah Usafi, said at least three people were killed and 16 wounded in the crash, while US forces killed one person and wounded two when they fired on dozens of stone-throwing rioters shouting "Down with America!"
A commander for the city's traffic police who was at the scene said he saw US forces firing on protesters. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
The US-led coalition in Kabul confirmed that there had been an accident and gave different casualty figures but said it had no reports of soldiers opening fire.
"There was a military flatbed truck which had a mechanical  failure, maybe a brake problem, and it crashed into some civilian vehicles," Lieutenant Tamara Lawrence, coalition spokeswoman, told AFP.
"One civilian was killed and six were injured,"
Another spokesman, Colonel Tom Collins, said, "We have absolutely no reports of coalition forces firing."
Two helicopters belonging to the Nato-led peacekeeping force hovered over the area.
People in the crowd said they saw at least three US Humvee vehicles coming into the city from the outskirts before the vehicles ran into a rush-hour traffic jam, hitting several civilian cars.
"The American convoy hit all the vehicles which were in their way. They didn't care about the civilians at all," said Mohammad Wali, 21, a shopkeeper who said he saw several bodies.
State television cut transmission of a live broadcast of parliament when one angry politician interrupted the proceedings to protest over the incident.
Taj Mohammed Mujahid, shouting before the house speaker ruled him out of order and the screen went black, said: "I have seen the incident ... I come from that area and I have to tell you,"
The United States has 23,000 troops in Afghanistan. A Nato-led peacekeeping force has more than 9,000 troops in the country, most of them stationed in Kabul and the more peaceful north and west, although it is expanding its mission to the volatile south, where a Taliban-inspired insurgency is raging.
PHOTO CAPTION
An Afghan protester prepares to throw stones at an U.S. military convoy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, May 29, 2006.AP