Killings of UN staff in one of Afghanistan’s safest cities have raised fears that plans for Afghans to take control of security from NATO troops in three months are being rushed.
The northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, famed for its opulent “Blue Mosque,” was thrown into turmoil last week when demonstrators took to the streets after Friday prayers to protest the burning of a Koran by a US pastor.
The protests spiraled into the attack on the UN compound in Mazar-i-Sharif, which left seven foreign staff dead.
Although peace has since been restored, some residents say the attack leaves them worried that Afghan forces are not ready to take control of security for the city.
Those fears accompany growing hostility to foreigners, often all lumped together as Americans in the minds of many uneducated Afghans.
The US led the 2001 invasion to oust the Taliban and Americans make up two-thirds of the 130,000 foreign troops in country.
A 25-year-old student who took part in last week’s fateful demonstration, but left before it turned violent, said the attack on UN staff showed the security forces were “weak.”
“The time is definitely not right for a transition to our security forces in Mazar-i-Sharif,” he said, speaking anonymously owing to fears he could be detained by police if identified. “They are not ready, they are not well trained — we saw what happened on Friday. I am worried, I no longer have confidence in our security forces.”
Mazar-i-Sharif is one of seven -areas of Afghanistan that will switch from international to Afghan security control from July, allowing limited foreign troop withdrawals ahead of the planned end of combat operations in 2014.
On March 22, Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced that Afghan forces would take over in Mazar and several other areas in the summer in plans that would allow NATO allies, facing domestic opposition to the war, to start withdrawing.
Although NATO is in overall command of Mazar-i-Sharif, where Germans make up the bulk of the mission, Afghan forces are on the front line.
The city’s police chief, General Ismatullah Alizai, said the UN attack showed their “weakness” and took the force by surprise.
“The attack on the UN office was unexpected and police was not ready for that,” he said. “But we have learned our lesson and are now working hard day and night to prepare the security forces for transition. We will, God willing, be fully prepared by that time.”
Police officials say they have now detained three suspected masterminds of the attack.
They also suggest the incident may have been connected to a feud between the provincial governor and powerful rivals seeking to undermine his authority.
Whatever lay behind the tragedy, the protests have spread across Afghanistan, leaving at least 24 dead.
Experts say the Koran burning has fueled discontent over 10 years of war, that living standards are not improving more quickly and anger against foreigners over civilian casualties.
“They have burnt our holy book, we don’t want them in our country,” said Hamidullah, a 25-year-old shopkeeper in Mazar-i-Sharif who, like many Afghans, only uses one name. “We don’t want the Taliban either, but at least they are Muslims, not infidels. These infidels are not here to help us, they are here for their own purposes.”
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