US Troops Provoke Anger, Fear in Afghan Villages

[Judi Lynn]

US Troops Provoke Anger, Fear in Afghan Villages
Tue August 19, 2003 10:49 AM ET




By Saeed Ali Achakzai
SHER-O-ABA (Reuters) - When U.S. forces entered a remote Afghan village recently to hunt Taliban and al Qaeda rebels, locals hurriedly hid their Korans in a sack.

Baffled soldiers who discovered the copies of Islam's holy book asked an elder what was happening. He told them that villagers feared they would be killed merely for being Muslims.

The misunderstanding underlines the depth of confusion and mistrust caused by foreign troops in Afghanistan, particularly in rural areas in the South and East where the coalition is most active in its hunt for "terrorists."

In many cases that mistrust has turned to hatred, as aggressive search tactics and a general sense among Muslims of being under siege plays into the hands of the very people the U.S. military is trying to wipe out.

"On the slightest suspicion they arrest us and treat us like animals," said Haji Allah Dad, a 50-year-old resident of Sher-o-Aba, a village 4 miles east of the town of Spin Boldak on the border with Pakistan. (snip/...)

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3301625

[ze_dscherman]

1. Deja vu

I read the story of the Afghan villagers hiding the Koran several weeks ago, but don't remember where.