General tells forces to remain disciplined in face of protests

Published on Saturday 25 February 2012 12:35

AMERICA’S senior commander in Afghanistan has told his troops that now is not the time to seek revenge for the death of two soliders who were gunned down by an Afghan soldier during a protest over the burning of copies of the Koran at a US base.

Yesterday was the deadliest days of protests so far – with reports that at least 12 people had died across the country as mobs attacked US bases and diplomatic missions, bringing the total casualties from the unrest to 20.

Afghan president Hamid Karzai, parliamentarians and some clerics have called for an end to the protests until an investigation into the incident is held in the next few days

The governor’s office in western Herat province said six died in incidents there.

A spokesman for the governor said three people were killed when a truck full of ammunition exploded after protesters set it ablaze.

Three others died in separate incidents when armed men among the protesters exchanged gunfire with security forces. He said at least 65 people were injured in the protests.

In northern Baghlan province, governor Abdul Majid said another protester died when Afghan security forces fired in the air to prevent demonstrators from storming a base used by Hungarian troops.

“There was a peaceful protest, but, when it ended, about 200 irresponsible young people ran toward the base and tried to enter the gate. There was shooting from the Afghan police and the army from several places and one man died and three were wounded,” he said.

The violence came as General John Allen told his troops that “now is not the time for revenge” following Thursday’s riots.

He asked troops to resist whatever urge they might have to strike back after an Afghan soldier killed two American troops.

He said: “Now is not the time for revenge, now is not the time for vengeance, now is the time to look deep inside your souls, remember your mission, remember your discipline.”

The unrest began on Tuesday, when Afghan workers at the Bagram air base noticed that Korans and other Islamic texts were in rubbish that coalition troops dumped into a pit where garbage is burned.

Some Afghan workers burned their fingers as they tried to salvage some of the books. Afghan government officials said initial reports indicated four copies were burned.

The materials had been taken from a library at Parwan Detention Facility, which adjoins the base, because they contained extremist messages or inscriptions. Writing inside a Koran is forbidden in the Islamic faith, although it was unclear whether the handwritten messages were found in the holy book or other reading materials.

A military official said it appeared detainees at the prison were exchanging messages by making notations in the texts.

President Barack Obama apologised for the incident on Thursday. In a letter to Mr Karzai, he expressed “regret and apologies over the incident in which religious materials were unintentionally mishandled”.

“We don’t care about Obama’s apology,” said Kamaluddin, a 25-year-old Kabul protester who uses only one name. “We have to protest to be responsible to our God. They are burning our Koran. An apology is not enough.”