Thousands march in Kabul as Shiite minority targeted
Presidential guard opens fire, injuring 10 protesters
KABUL — Anger and frustration over the brutal killings of seven members of Afghanistan’s minority Hazaras spilled into the streets of Kabul on Wednesday, with about 10,000 people marching to demand justice for the Shiite minority and calling on the government to do more to ensure the nation’s security or step down.
The case of seven Hazaras, whose beheaded bodies were found Saturday in the country’s southeastern province of Zabul, appears to have galvanized many in war-battered Afghanistan, uniting them across ethnic and sectarian divides.
No one claimed responsibility for the killings, though Afghan officials have blamed a range of extremists, from Taliban insurgents to an emerging affiliate in Afghanistan of the Islamic State group, which is fighting in Syria and Iraq.
The protest climaxed outside President Ashraf Ghani’s heavily fortified presidential palace at Pashtunistan Square, where marchers brought the coffins, draped in green flags symbolizing the Shiite minority.
At one point, presidential guards opened fire as some of the protesters tried to scale the walls and get into the palace grounds. The president’s deputy spokesman, Zafar Hashemi, said the shooting wounded 10 people. It was not immediately clear if Ghani was inside the palace at the time.
Shortly afterward, Ghani went live on national television, appealing for calm and promising that the Hazara deaths would be avenged. “The nation’s pain is my pain,” he said, vowing the authorities would have “no mercy” on the killers.
“Like you, I will not calm down until the perpetrators of these crimes are brought to justice. We shall revenge the blood of our brothers and sisters,” he said, adding that the “enemies of Afghanistan” are trying to create disunity and “bring ethnic and sectarian violence” to the country.
After the gunshots, many of the demonstrators dispersed but about 1,000 were allowed into the palace compound. About 30 of them were to meet with Ghani and members of his National Security Council later Wednesday to press demands for justice and security, according to organizer Lilia Mohammadi.
The seven coffins had also been moved inside the palace grounds, she said, where they would stay the night — a conciliatory gesture following the gunfire.
Kabul Deputy Police Chief Gul Agha Rouhani said security forces shot in the air to disperse the protesters trying to scale the palace walls. He could not confirm reports of injuries. Later, riot police took up positions at the gates as a tense calm returned.
“About 100 people were trying to get into the palace by climbing over the wall,” said Ahmad Sharif, 36, who took part in the rally.
Before arriving at the palace gates, the protesters walked for almost four hours carrying the green-draped coffins of the seven Hazaras — four men, two women and a nine-year-old girl, Shukria. Many chanted “Death to the Taliban,” “Down with the government” and “Death to Pakistan.”