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After Bombing, Afghans Demand That Foreigners Leave Their Neighborhood After Bombing, Afghans Demand That Foreigners Leave Their Neighborhood
(about 7 hours later)
KABUL, Afghanistan — Hundreds of residents of a Kabul neighborhood where a bombing killed dozens of people staged a raucous protest on Tuesday, demanding that the apparent target of the attack — a compound for foreign workers and international organizations — be shut down. KABUL, Afghanistan — Samsor Dawlatzai, a part-time laborer, settled in after dinner Monday night to watch a television interview with the American peace envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad.
Smoke was rising from fires set by protesters near the fortified compound, called Green Village, where officials say a suicide bomber detonated a vehicle full of explosives on Monday night. The blast in turn blew up a gasoline station and a fuel tanker, and nearby homes were engulfed. Officials said on Tuesday that at least 30 people had been killed and about 100 injured. The envoy had just mentioned reaching a peace agreement “in principle” with the Taliban when Mr. Dawlatzai’s house collapsed on top of him, his family and his guests. A suicide truck bombing nearby left eight people in the house bloodied and battered, among them a 1-year-old-boy, five women and a guest lacerated by flying glass as he prayed.
The Green Village compound has drawn suicide bombers to the neighborhood before, and furious residents demanded on Tuesday that the foreigners leave. Gunfire could be heard as the police battled demonstrators. Some protesters tried to throw rocks into the compound, and others attempted to scale its walls, an Afghan journalist at the scene said. “What peace are you talking about?” Mr. Dawlatzai asked Tuesday, referring to Mr. Khalilzad.
“I can’t hide the fact that people are angry and it will take a little bit of time until they calm down and we take control of the situation,” said Firdous Faramarz, a spokesman for the police in Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital. Mr. Dawlatzai, 23, had the misfortune of living near Green Village, a fortified compound of foreign nationals that had been rocked by bombings in the past. The latest attack, on Monday night, destroyed or badly damaged dozens of nearby shops and homes, killing up to 30 people and wounding at least 100, security officials said.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. It came just after the American envoy to peace talks with the militants announced an agreement “in principle” that would initiate the end of the United States military presence in Afghanistan, starting with the exit of 5,400 American troops within 135 days of signing a formal agreement. It was the third time Mr. Dawlatzai’s home has been torn apart by a bombing aimed at Green Village, he said. He and his neighbors had had enough.
The envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, told an Afghan news channel late Monday that final approval for the deal would come from President Trump. On Tuesday morning, hundreds of enraged residents surged through the streets, demanding that the foreigners in their midst vacate their neighborhood. Some protesters scaled a wall surrounding Green Village, setting fire to a guard tower and torching rows of armored SUVs in the compound’s parking area.
The attack Monday night, coupled with Taliban assaults on two provincial capitals in northern Afghanistan over the weekend, raised doubts about the prospects for an immediate reduction in violence and ultimately a cease-fire — two goals of the peace process. Orange flames shot up and plumes of black smoke twisted skyward. Some protesters burned tires, tossed flaming bottles of gasoline or threw rocks into the compound.
As part of the proposed peace deal, the Taliban would agree not to let Afghanistan be used by terrorists to stage international attacks. The signing of an agreement would be followed by negotiations between the Taliban and Afghan leaders on the political future of the country. The Taliban claimed responsibility for Monday’s bombing, while also reaping the propaganda benefits of irate Afghans cursing and condemning foreigners. Even as the prospects for a peace deal improve, the Taliban have launched repeated attacks that kill and maim civilians — and underscore the Afghan government’s inability to protect its citizens.
At a Kabul hospital on Monday night, residents wounded in the explosion blamed the Afghan government for failing to protect their neighborhood, and they complained that Green Village made it unsafe to live there. A statement from the Taliban on Tuesday said the bombing was retaliation for attacks by American-backed government forces. It depicted the Taliban as protectors of Afghan civilians in the face of government and American “attacks on peoples’ villages and homes.”
Nasrat Rahimi, an Interior Ministry spokesman, said 400 foreign nationals had been evacuated from Green Village by security forces. But a resident of the compound, reached by text message, refuted that, saying residents had stayed in bunkers all night as police officers battled insurgent attackers until 4 a.m. “Those who criticize us for attacking Green Village must understand that there is a reaction to any action,” the statement said.
Mr. Rahimi said security forces had killed five attackers. He said the insurgents had not tried to enter the Green Village compound, but instead hid in the adjacent neighborhood, apparently hoping that security forces would give up the search. The latest attack on Green Village, which houses private security companies and contractors for nongovernmental organizations, left residents soured on a peace process some have never fully embraced. Many blamed the government.
The Interior Ministry would only confirm that 16 people had been killed in the attack, though officials said the numbers could rise. “We’ve complained time and again to get this damn camp out of here because in each attack we suffer the most,” said Atiqullah, 30, whose forehead bore 20 stitches from lacerations inflicted when his home caved in.
In January, the Taliban claimed responsibility for a truck bomb explosion near Green Village that killed five people and wounded more than 100. Mr. Atiqullah, who goes by one name, said he dug out his wife and two daughters from mounds of debris. His brother’s legs were broken and his father was injured as he bent over his prayer mat.
On Tuesday, casualties from the neighborhood were again arriving at hospitals, but this time they were people wounded in the clashes between demonstrators and the police. At Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital in Kabul, three injured people arrived in private cars within a minute’s time. Mr. Atiqullah and other residents said government officials had rebuffed their requests for compensation to rebuild their homes after previous bombings.
At least five people were shot and wounded by the police in Tuesday’s protest, including his cousin, Mr. Atiqullah said. Officials declined to provide casualty figures from the protest. The Interior Ministry would confirm only that 16 people had been killed in the bombing, though officials said the number could rise.
Security officials said the truck bomb ignited a gasoline station and a fuel tanker, spraying nearby homes and shops with burning fuel.
Green Village houses security companies like G4S and Hart, both British, as well as private aid contractors and the small Romanian embassy. In January, the Taliban claimed responsibility for a truck bomb explosion near the compound that killed five people and wounded more than 100.
Mohammad Naiem, 40, a tractor driver, said he could not remember how many times he had tried to scrape the streets clean after bombings near Green Village. He was at it again Tuesday, his tractor blade scooping up dust-covered debris and scraps of human flesh.
“These attacks drive me crazy,” Mr. Naiem said. “This is not the first time — and it won’t be the last.”
Ghulam Rahman, 52, a municipal cleaner, was removing debris near Green Village on a roadway streaked with blood.
“After every explosion, I can’t sleep for a month,” he said. “Right now, I feel numb and nauseous.”
A police officer watched the spectacle. “If the Taliban want to sign this peace deal, why do they keep killing people — they don’t believe in peace at all,” he said, but declined to provide his name.
Firdous Faramarz, a police spokesman in Kabul, acknowledged residents’ rage and frustration. “I can’t hide the fact that people are angry,” he said.
Nasrat Rahimi, an Interior Ministry spokesman, said 400 foreign nationals had been evacuated from Green Village by security forces. A resident of the compound, reached by text message, refuted that, saying they had stayed in bunkers all night as police officers battled insurgent attackers until 4 a.m. and residents remained in the compound Tuesday morning.
Mr. Rahimi said security forces had killed five armed attackers.
Mr. Khalilzad, the envoy, was in Kabul to brief the Afghan government on the potential peace agreement.
He told an Afghan news channel late Monday that final approval for a peace deal between the United States and the Taliban would come from President Trump. The agreement would initiate the end of the United States military presence in Afghanistan, starting with the exit of 5,400 American troops within 135 days of signing an agreement.
As part of the proposed deal, the Taliban would agree not to let Afghanistan be used by terrorists to stage international attacks. Signing an agreement would be followed by negotiations between the Taliban and Afghan leaders on the political future of the country.
But those prospects seemed remote and almost incidental to Mr. Dawlatzai as he surveyed the ruins of his home and worried about relatives and guests still recovering in a Kabul hospital.
“Khalilzad was talking about the peace when the explosion took place,” he said. “But do you think he is loyal to us and he is going to bring peace? I don’t think so.”