Kabul to host peace summit

KABUL: Kabul will host a multinational peace conference on Afghanistan Tuesday, as the capital reels from a wave of bombings and clashes that left more than 100 people dead and hundreds wounded in the last week.

Much of Kabul remains on lockdown ahead of the conference, labelled the “Kabul Process,” with tighter than usual security including more armed checkpoints and armored vehicles patrolling the streets, and tight restrictions on civilian traffic.

Representatives of around two dozen countries will attend the meeting, which aims to build international support on ways to restore security in the conflicttorn country, the government said on Monday.

“The Kabul Process is meant to reach a consensus with the region and the world for peace in Afghanistan,” said a presidential spokesman.

Kabul has been on edge since a truck bombing last Wednesday in the highly fortified diplomatic quarter killed at least 90 people and wounded hundreds, the deadliest attack in the city since 2001.

Four more people were killed Friday when hundreds of protesters incensed by the bombing clashed with police, prompting officials to beat them back with live rounds in the air, tear gas and water cannon.

The protesters, holding a sit-in for a fourth day Monday near the bombing site, have demanded the resignation of Afghanistan’s security chiefs, including national security adviser Hanif Atmar.

And on Saturday, at least seven people were killed when suicide bombers tore through a row of mourners who were attending the funeral of one of the protesters, the son of an influential Afghan senator.