ஆப்கானிஸ்தானத்தில் பலவருடங்களாக நடந்துவரும் போர்களில் நாடெங்கும் கண்ணிவெடிகள் புதையுண்டுகிடக்கின்றன. அதன் மீது தெரியாமல் காலை வைக்கும் சிறுவர்கள் கால்கள் சிதைவுறுகின்றன. இதனால், நாட்டில் இருக்கும் கண்ணிவெடிகளை நீக்க சேவையாள்ர்களும் ஐநாவும் வேலைசெய்துவருகின்றன.
அப்படிப்பட்ட சில சேவையாளர்களை தாலிபான் சிறைபிடித்து வைத்திருக்கிறது. இவர்களில் சிலரை கொல்லப்போவதாக அச்சுறுத்தி வருகிறது.
ஏற்கெனவே ஒரு கண்ணிவெடி நீக்கும் எஸ்டோனியா நாட்டை சார்ந்தவர் தாலிபான் குண்டால் கொல்லப்பட்டுள்ளார்.
Taliban seize 18 Afghan mine clearing experts
24 Jun 2007 14:42:09 GMT
Source: Reuters
By David Fox
KABUL, June 24 (Reuters) - Taliban fighters have seized 18 Afghan mine clearing experts and threatened to kill them if investigations suggest they are working for U.S.-led forces in the country, officials and the insurgents said on Sunday.
The group was seized along with four specialist mine-sniffing dogs, which can take years to train, on Saturday in the Andar district of Ghazni province, part of the eastern and southern "badlands" where the Taliban are at their strongest.
"Our investigation is ongoing and after the investigation we will decide what to do," Taliban commander Mullah Safiullah told Reuters by satellite phone.
Shohab Hakimi, head of the Mine Detection Dog Centre (MDC) said nine of his staff and nine others from the Mine Clearance Planning Agency (MCPA) were seized at gunpoint.
"For the last 18 years they have worked in Afghanistan for Afghanistan," he said, appealing to the Taliban to release the deminers.
Afghanistan remains one of the mostly heavily mined countries in the world, a legacy of decades of conflict as well as the 10-year Soviet occupation.
A number of non-governmental bodies have mine-clearing operations in the country, and their activities have been well supported at home and in the West following the international campaign spearheaded by Britain's late Princess Diana.
"PROTECTED STATUS"
Hakimi told Reuters that the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, had previously given mine clearers "protected status" and that he hoped this ruling would still apply.
"If senior Taliban leaders know about this, then I am sure it can be resolved," Hakimi said, adding that the Taliban had made no demands for their release.
"They warned that they would kill them if we involved foreign forces," he added.
Taliban fighters have executed a number of foreigners they have accused of spying or working for the U.S.-led foreign forces since their overthrow in December 2001.
After scattering following their ousting, the Taliban has now re-grouped in the south and east -- the poppy-producing regions responsible for over 90 percent of the world's heroin -- and are engaged in daily clashes with U.S-led and Afghan troops as summer heralds an increase in fighting.
Three Afghan policemen were killed when their remote security checkpoint and post was attacked by insurgents in Kandahar province on Sunday, while two more policemen were injured by a roadside bomb attack in Kandahar city, local officials there said.
A civilian was also killed in neighbouring Helmand province when foreign forces opened fire after their convoy was struck by a roadside bomb, officials there said.
Hundreds of Taliban fighters and their allies have been killed in fighting this year as well as an increasing number of civilians caught up in the clashes.
More than 230 civilians have been killed this year alone during operations by foreign and Afghan forces, according to an umbrella body for aid groups in Afghanistan.
No comments:
Post a Comment