Afghan protesters, journalist killed during unrest over ‘unjust food distribution’
At least four Afghans, including a local journalist, were killed when protesters against the “mismanagement of aid” clashed with police in one of the most impoverished parts of Afghanistan, officials told Arab News.
Videos circulating on social media on Saturday showed scores of people fleeing from an area of Ghor’s provincial capital in the central region amid shooting.
“The protesters gathered outside the governor’s headquarters. Firing began, and unfortunately four protesters were killed and 16, including police officers, were wounded,” Ghor’s governor, Ghulam Nasir, told Arab News by phone, adding that a group of “opposition forces (Taliban) had mingled among the protesters and turned it violent.”
Roqya Nayel, a lawmaker from the province, said some of the protesters began to use sticks and stones and that the demonstrations became violent after one of the protesters, a woman, was killed by a police vehicle.
Another lawmaker, Atta Mohammad Dehqanpur, said that 400 people tried to enter the governor’s compound because authorities had failed to keep their promise to distribute aid among residents in the districts.
“They were protesting against the unjust distribution of aid. Twelve of those wounded are in critical condition,” Dehqanpur said.
However, Nasir said that the government has been distributing five loaves of bread routinely to those affected by coronavirus and will continue to reach out to more people.
The Afghanistan Journalists’ Center said that a presenter for a local radio channel, Ahmad Khan Nawed, was among those killed, and it demanded an investigation into the incident.
In a statement released on Saturday, Amnesty International urged the Afghan authorities to order “an independent and effective investigation into the use of unnecessary and excessive force that led to the killing of our civilians, including a local journalist, and the injury of others outside governor’s office in Ghor.”
Condemning the incident, Torek Farhadi, a former government adviser and a financial expert, said that the “government in Kabul, beset by crisis and corruption, is now veering toward authoritarian rule.”