Bassirat 3 mai 2007 - Collectif de soutien aux exilés du 10e
Transcription
Bassirat 3 mai 2007 - Collectif de soutien aux exilés du 10e
Collectif de soutien des exilés du 10ème Quelques éléments sur la situation des enfants et adolescents en Afghanistan Brèves dans la presse 1 2005......................................................................................................................................................5 Kidnapped Afghan minors handed over to parents......................................................................5 Police claim arresting child kidnappers .......................................................................................5 2006......................................................................................................................................................6 165 schools closed in Helmand for security reasons ...................................................................6 Three more schools torched in troubled south .............................................................................6 Kidnapper of two children arrested in Mazar-i-Sharif.................................................................7 Afghanistan : incendie d’une école dans l’est du pays ................................................................7 Pakistan : fermeture des écoles pour réfugiés afghans dans la NWFP ........................................7 Afghan teenagers handed over to families in Nangarhar.............................................................7 Six children killed, 27 injured in two blasts ................................................................................8 School set alight in Ghazni ..........................................................................................................8 Two schools torched in Kapisa ....................................................................................................8 School set ablaze in Balkh ...........................................................................................................9 2007....................................................................................................................................................10 Makeshift school torched in Nangarhar .....................................................................................10 Taliban want to transfer terrorist camps into Afghanistan.........................................................10 Explosion kills four schoolchildren in Herat .............................................................................10 Problems of Afghan students in Iran discussed .........................................................................11 Afghanistan : une école incendiée dans la province du Logar...................................................11 Minors among six injured in Kabul rocket attack......................................................................11 Child kidnapping cases drop in Kandahar .................................................................................12 Schools torched; police, ANA vehicles attacked .......................................................................12 Landmine blast kills five minors in Ghazni...............................................................................13 Taliban commander detained, minors killed in firing................................................................13 Afghanistan : deux écolières abattues devant leur école............................................................14 Afghanistan : trois écoles incendiées dans la province du Kounar............................................14 Afghanistan : un enfant tué dans une attaque imputable à la rébellion......................................14 Afghanistan : un chef tâleb et deux enfants tués un raid de la coalition....................................14 Afghanistan : 2 000 déplacés par les combats dans la province de Helmand............................14 Afghanistan : deux jeunes bergers tués dans des échanges de tirs ............................................14 Four child kidnappers arrested in Kabul ....................................................................................15 Toy bomb kills two children in Khost .......................................................................................15 Women, children among several dead in Coalition operation ...................................................15 Doctor shot dead; minors injured in explosion ..........................................................................16 Two schools blown up in Herat .................................................................................................16 Minor killed in ISAF firing in Helmand ....................................................................................17 Afghanistan : deux enfants tués dans une opération de la coalition dans l’Est .........................17 Afghanistan : cinquante-neuf enfants tués dans l’attentat de Baghlan ......................................17 Tutor killed for teaching 'English and IT' in Paktia ...................................................................17 Afghanistan : six enfants tués dans un attentat-suicide visant des Italiens................................18 Six dead, nine wounded in Paghman suicide bombing..............................................................18 Families flee as operation in Taliban stronghold begins............................................................18 Afghanistan : un garçon de douze ans pendu par les taliban .....................................................19 Taliban hang boy accused of spying for foreigners ...................................................................19 Insecurity keeps 80% students away from schools in Helmand ................................................19 Women, child wounded in Kunar missile attack .......................................................................20 2008....................................................................................................................................................21 School building attacked, three held in Khost ...........................................................................21 Afghanistan : 300 000 élèves privés d’une scolarité à cause de l’insurrection..........................21 2 Boy escapes from Taliban's captivity ........................................................................................21 Man killed, two minor wounded in Kunar.................................................................................22 Afghanistan : attentat-suicide raté dans la province de Farah ...................................................22 Young lovers arrested in Badakhshan........................................................................................22 NATO airstrike kills 13 civilians in Helmand, locals say..........................................................23 Child killed in Khost suicide attack ...........................................................................................23 Taliban torch high school in Kandahar ......................................................................................23 Two minors injured in missile attack.........................................................................................24 Teenagers kidnapped for suicide attack training........................................................................24 Unidentified assailants blow up school in Khost .......................................................................24 Unemployment, drought force youth out of Samangan.............................................................25 Afghanistan : 6,2 millions d’enfants ont retrouvé le chemin de l’école ....................................25 Gunmen attack school in Maidan Wardak.................................................................................25 700 Afghans killed by mines, explosives last year ....................................................................26 Coalition says insurgents blow up Paktika school .....................................................................26 Afghanistan : une école incendiée dans la province de Koundouz............................................26 Two children released after payment of huge ransom ...............................................................27 Militants torch school in Kapisa ................................................................................................27 Pakistan : l’évacuation du camp de réfugiés de Jalozai a commencé........................................27 Afghanistan : deux écoles incendiées dans la province du Logar..............................................28 Deux écoles mixtes incendiées dans le logar .............................................................................28 Kidnapping cases on the rise in Ghazni .....................................................................................28 Bombing kills woman, injures children in Laghman.................................................................29 Girls school torched in Swat valley ...........................................................................................29 Insecurity keeps 40,000 children off the school in Kandahar....................................................29 School building blown up in Paktika .........................................................................................30 Unidentified gunmen torch girls' school in Logar .....................................................................30 School blown up, two road workers injured in Logar ...............................................................31 Afghanistan : une école détruite et deux ouvriers tués dans la province du Logar....................31 Girls' school torched in Baghlan ................................................................................................31 Taliban's threats shrink attendance in schools ...........................................................................32 Afghanistan : démantèlement d’un gang qui enlevait et violait des enfants..............................32 School building damaged in Khost ............................................................................................32 Boy killed as Taliban attack Ghazni ..........................................................................................33 Taliban close schools in Qarabagh.............................................................................................33 School torched in Logar.............................................................................................................33 Three schoolgirls injured in Kunduz suicide attack...................................................................34 Two cops killed, girls' school torched........................................................................................34 47 civilians killed in US-led strikes in Nangarhar .....................................................................34 Two young Taliban killed, four teachers wounded....................................................................35 Two minors die in Qarabagh blast .............................................................................................35 Majority of schools closed in Helmand .....................................................................................35 Two kids killed as ISAF opens fire on a car in Kandahar .........................................................36 Primary school torched in Kunduz.............................................................................................36 Another school set ablaze in Kunduz.........................................................................................36 Unknown gunmen torch schoolbooks in Ghazni .......................................................................37 Teenaged boy killed, ten injured in blast ...................................................................................37 Ten refugee schools closed down in Baluchistan ......................................................................37 Six minors killed, 18 wounded in Ghazni blast .........................................................................38 Children worst sufferers in Afghan conflict ..............................................................................38 School building blown up in Paktika .........................................................................................38 Conference on children trafficking to be held on Oct, 11..........................................................38 3 Acid attack on school girls in Kandahar ....................................................................................39 Four teenagers killed in Faryab blast .........................................................................................39 School students kidnapped from Logar .....................................................................................40 School blown up in Khost..........................................................................................................40 Violence against children on the rise: U.N. ...............................................................................40 Boy bomber: 'free me, I've got exams' .......................................................................................41 Ban appelle les taliban à cesser d'exploiter et d'enrôler des enfants ..........................................42 Girls school torched in Swat ......................................................................................................43 School teacher shot dead in Helmand ........................................................................................43 'UN report on Afghan children misleading' ...............................................................................43 Attentat dans l'est afghan: 16 morts dont 14 enfants (nouveau bilan) .......................................44 Children killed in afghan attack .................................................................................................44 taliban bomber kills 14 children in attack..................................................................................44 Unknown gunmen blow up school building in Farah ................................................................45 Blast leaves four minors dead, six more injured........................................................................45 2009....................................................................................................................................................46 Jihadi groups recruiting youths for terrorist activities ...............................................................46 Teenager abducted in Herat .......................................................................................................46 Taliban should stop targeting and using children:UN ...............................................................46 Blast kills three boys in Panjshir................................................................................................47 Child dies as militants attack forces in Uruzgan........................................................................47 Kunduz police rescue four youths, arrest kidnappers ................................................................47 Blast kills two children in Kandahar..........................................................................................48 Kabul police recover kidnapped teenager..................................................................................48 Pakistan bans admission to Afghans in schools, colleges..........................................................48 80% kids in Ghor condemned to child labor: AIHRC ...............................................................49 Suspected militants blow up two schools in Khost....................................................................49 SC condemns attack on civilians, staffing child soldiers...........................................................50 School destroyed as Taliban attack district in Laghman............................................................50 Série d'attaques en Afghanistan, au moins 27 morts..................................................................51 Nouvelle attaque au gaz dans une école pour filles ...................................................................51 Most of 140 Afghan dead in US airstrikes under 18..................................................................51 Taliban militants burn down school in S Afghanistan...............................................................52 Recruiter of child suicide bombers nabbed in Afghanistan .......................................................52 Four of 13 abducted children rescued in east.............................................................................53 Abducted boys rescued, gang busted in Kandahar ....................................................................53 10 children escape captors .........................................................................................................53 Afghanistan: un enfant meurt dans l'explosion de la bombe qu'il posait...................................54 West air raid kills Afghan school children.................................................................................54 4 2005 Pajhwok 6 juin 2005 Kidnapped Afghan minors handed over to parents PESHAWAR, June 6 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Two Afghan minors kidnapped from Balakh province to Pakistan a fortnight back were handed over to their parents here on Monday. Parents of the two teenagers Sharifuddin, son of Najmuddin (12), and Nizamuddin (13), son of Ziauddin - were called to the Afghan Consulate to take custody of their children. Speaking to Pajhwok Afghan News, Consul General Haji Abdul Khaliq Farahi thanked Pakistan police for their cooperation in safe recovery of the teens. He added the Consulate would make arrangements for their return to Afghanistan. Farahi advised refugees to inform the Consulate whenever they encountered suspects or saw such an activity in their camps. Nizamuddin, father of one of the children, thanked the police and the Afghan Consulate for saving the lives of the minors. Touching scenes were in evidence as the parents embraced their children - breaking into tears. "Our families have already mourned these children, whom we presumed dead before their release," the parents observed while thanking police and consulate officials. The two children - kidnapped from the Balkh province on May 22 - were brought to Pakistan via the Kabul-Torkham route and kept in the Azakhel refugee camp, some 30 kilometers from here. On a tip-off from camp authorities, police conducted a raid, recovered the teenagers and arrested an alleged kidnapper. Four of the kidnapper's accomplices managed to give police the slip. Kidnapped children recovered from refugee camp PESHAWAR, June 1 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Police have recovered two Afghan minors allegedly kidnapped from Balakh province 10 days back. Sharifuddin, son of Najmuddin (12), and Nizamuddin (13), son of Ziauddin, were allegedly kidnapped by Rahman Barfi, son of Barat Khan. The alleged kidnappers were abetted by four accomplices, police told Pajhwok Afghan News on Wednesday. Azakhel Police Station SHO Shah Hasan said the abductor was in their custody while his abettors managed to run away. Kidnappers were trying to shift the two children to Mansehra, he said, adding investigations were underway and police trying to arrest the four outlaws at large. Sobbing out the kidnap saga, Sharifuddin recalled he was sitting in a garden with Nizamuddin when a car stopped near them. "The five men dragged us into the car," he continued. The children were first taken to Kabul and then shifted to Pakistan, with the abductors often warning to kill them. "But they did not subject us to torture." Police chief of Azakhel refugee camp Allah Dad told this news agency the two children could not speak Pashto. He said residents of the area informed them on the basis of suspicion. The alleged kidnapper, when approached by this scribe, rejected the charge and said the children requested him to lead them to Mansehra. Afghan Consul General in Peshawar Haji Abdul Khaliq Farahi, when contacted for comments, said the children would either be handed over to the Afghan Interior Ministry or their parents. Nizamuddin said he was a resident of the Kalfat Bandar area in Balkh province. He had studied in the Naubahar High School of the province. Pajhwok 29 juin 2005 Police claim arresting child kidnappers FAIZABAD/KABUL, June 29 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Police have claimed arresting two men for alleged involvement in child abductions in Balkh and Badakhshan provinces. Badakhshan police chief Shah Jehan Noori said on Tuesday the kidnapped teenagers, identified as Abdullah, Zainullah and Imamuddin - aging between 13 and 15 - had been handed over to their parents. He said the children belonged to Imam Sahib district of the northern Kunduz province, whom the kidnapper trying to shift to an unknown location via Badakhshan. The alleged kidnapper has been identified as Mustafa. Talking to Pajhwok Afghan News, one of the children said they did not know Mustafa. However, the alleged kidnapper told police he had brought the children for work. Meanwhile, Saeed Anwar Mujmir, an official of the counter-narcotics of the Interior Ministry, said two children, Mohammad Yasin (6) and Roohullah (7), who were kidnapped two days back from the northern Balkh province, had been recovered. The kidnapper Ghulam Nasir has been arrested, while the children have been handed over to their parents. In a similar incident, Baghlan police have claimed arresting four people for kidnapping four children from Pul-i-Khumri. The kidnappers told police they were transferring the children to neighbouring Pakistan with the consent of their parents. 5 2006 Pajhwok 22 janvier 2006 165 schools closed in Helmand for security reasons LASHKARGAH, Jan 22 (Pajhwok Afghan News): About 165 schools have been closed down due to security reasons in the southern restive province of Helmand, provincial education director said Sunday. Director Haji Mohammad Qasim told Pajhwok Afghan News schools located in Nadali, Nawzad, Baramcha and a number of other districts of this province were closed down due to increasing threats from Taliban fighters. "First security should be established in the region, a vital step for imparting education, without which the smooth process of learning is impossible," he said. We could train people despite small resources if law and order situation was restored in the zone, he added. There are about 75 operative schools, where 590 teachers were busy in spreading fountain of knowledge to 35,213 girls and boys students. If the status quo persisted the remaining schools would also be shut soon, he warned. A number of residents term Taliban threats the prime cause for closure of a number of schools in the province. Mirza Jan, a resident of Lashkargah told this news agency Taliban had several times threatened them with death if they sent their children to schools. In a recent spate of attacks, Taliban have torched many schools in the volatile province and have also killed a teacher and a student. Deputy education minister Siddiq Patman also said sense of widespread insecurity had halted the mechanism of education in the province. However, Defence Ministry Representative Lieutenant General Jan Khan and Zalmi Rasool, President Advisor on Security had said they would deploy about 300 forces in the area to upbeat security. Meanwhile, Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) in Kandahar has expressed deep concern over closure of schools in the southern Afghanistan. Head of AIHRC Engineer Abdul Qadir Noorzai said that both public and government should play their role in opening the schools. Pajhwok 28 janvier 2006 Three more schools torched in troubled south LASHKARGAH, Jan 28 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Three middle schools were torched in Nawa district of the restive southern province of Helmand late Friday night, security officials said Saturday. Provincial police chief Col. Abdul Rahman Sabir told Pajhwok Afghan News the three schools located in Hazarhash, Mangalzari and Surkhdozi areas of the district came under the arson attack by unidentified miscreants. Furniture pieces and stationery in the schools were burnt to ashes, said the police officer, who disclosed they were questioning several suspects held in connection with the latest arson incidents. Mohammad Lal, a passenger who arrived in this provincial capital city from the site, confirmed all the three schools for boys in the area had been set afire. "Residents were earlier warned several times by armed thugs to stop sending their children to schools." 6 Pajhwok 21 février 2006 Kidnapper of two children arrested in Mazar-i-Sharif MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Feb 21 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Police have arrested a man for trying to kidnap abroad two children in the northern Balkh province, security officials said on Tuesday. Spokesman for provincial police headquarters Sher Jan Durrani told Pajhwok Afghan News they recovered the two children trafficked by Abdul Razzaq, who had a fake passport and Iranian visa. The children aged 11 and 12 had been kidnapped from the northern Faryab province and police secured their release in Mazar-i-sharif, Durrani said, adding the kids had been handed over to their families. The human trafficking bid was thwarted weeks after the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission's regional office in Faryab voiced grave concern over increasing kidnaps of, and violence against, children. Bassirat 19 mars 2006 Afghanistan : incendie d’une école dans l’est du pays Dans la nuit de vendredi à samedi, des inconnus ont incendié une école primaire dans le village de Mashakhel, dans la province du Laghman, à l’est de Kaboul. Une partie de l’école, des meubles et des fournitures scolaires ont été détruits. La police, avec l’aide de la population locale, a éteint l’incendie. Elle a également procédé à l’interpellation de deux suspects. Avec Pajhwok Bassirat 8 avril 2006 Pakistan : fermeture des écoles pour réfugiés afghans dans la NWFP Le Pakistan tente de forcer les réfugiés Afghans à rentrer chez eux. Après avoir rejeté une demande du Haut commissariat aux réfugiés qui voulait que les réfugiés puissent passer une année supplémentaire au Pakistan, le gouvernement a ordonné la fermeture des écoles ouvertes dans les camps de la Province de la Frontière du Nord-Ouest (NWFP). « Ces réfugiés sont un fardeau pour le Pakistan et ils devraient rentrer chez eux. La majorité d’entre eux sont impliqués dans des activités criminelles », s’est justifié Javed Ashraf Qazi, ministre pakistanais de l’Education. Avec IRNA Pajhwok 9 avril 2006 Afghan teenagers handed over to families in Nangarhar JALALABAD, Apr 9 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Seventeen teenagers released from a Karachi jail and then later deported by Pakistan's government were on Sunday handed over to their families in Jalalabad, the provincial capital of the eastern Nangarhar province. The minors first delivered on Friday to Afghan authorities in the border town of Torkham, were later given to their families after a check up in Jalalabad. The teenagers were detained in Karachi by Pakistani police according to the Foreign Act several months back when they were trying to flee illegally to a foreign country along with their families, who were freed earlier. The minors were released and handed over to the Afghan consulate in Karachi last week. Atiqullah Murad, a provincial Foreign Ministry official in Jalalabad, told Pajhwok Afghan News the teenagers were attacked by some diseases like scabies, weight loss and psychological disorder during the custody. Muhammad Safi, a 16-years-old boy from Tagab district of the Kapisa province, said: "We were intended to go to Iran when Pakistani authorities arrested us in Karachi, we were beaten badly and forced to work hard." 7 Qudratullah, 17, from Alingar district of Laghman, said they were forced to give Rs1,000 to the first group of police who arrested them and then they handed over the detainees to another group. "We were not treated like humans and there was no water and food in the prison," he revealed. Muhammad Ibrahim Popal, an official in charge of children rights with the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHCR) said detaining minors was against the International Human Rights Convention. He said the Afghan government and global rights agencies had to question the Pakistani government about legal reasons for the detention. "Afghan refugees are still living legally in Pakistan and officials do not have the right to arrest any Afghan for not having passport, as they have legal right to live there," said Popal. Pajwok 11 avril 2006 Six children killed, 27 injured in two blasts ASADABAD, Apr 11 (Pajhwok Afghan News): At least six children were killed and 22 more injured on Tuesday morning when a rocket hit a primary school in the eastern Kunar province, security officials said. Separately, five people, including, a child were wounded in Jalalabad, provincial capital of the eastern Nangarhar. Provincial intelligence chief Ghulam Hassan Farahi told Pajhwok Afghan News the rocket struck the school at 8:30 am, in Salarbagh area, outside of the provincial capital Asadabad. The students were busy studying when the incident occurred, hence it caused many casualties, he said, adding the wounded were rushed to the US base in Asadabad, but had littler information about their condition at the moment. Safiullah, a student, told this news agency they were busy studying when they heard a big bang. The rocket hit the corner of mosque in the school that left six students killed and 22 more injured including a teacher, he added. Meanwhile, in a separate incident five people including a child were injured in Jalalabad, provincial capital of the eastern Nangarhar. Provincial police spokesman Col Abdul Ghafoor told this news agency that a mine hit a car at 10am at phase 2 in front of Ali Baba Limited. He said the driver, passengers and passers were injured in the hospital that were rushed to the Civil Hospital in Nangarhar. Shahkirullah, an eyewitness, said: "We heard bang as the car reached the spot, hurriedly approaching the site, we saw that some people were wounded." Dr Faridullah said they had received five injured in critical condition. Pahjhwok 17 avril 2006 School set alight in Ghazni GHAZNI CITY, Apr 17 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Unidentified gunmen burned a middle school in the Moqur district of the southern Ghazni province last night. Provincial police chief Abdul Rahman Sarjang told Pajhwok Afghan News on Monday the school was torched in Sra Zranda area of the district around 10pm Sunday night. He added police contingents had been sent into the area for investigations but no arrest had been made thus far. Sardar Gul, resident of the area, said it was the only school which was operational in the area. He said before construction of the school, students used to travel long distance, while many others have stopped studying. Taliban are against western education, calling it un-Islamic. Several teachers have been killed and school burnt in the southern provinces to force people not to send their children to schools. Pajhwok 9 mai 2006 Two schools torched in Kapisa MAHMOODRAQI, May 9 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Unidentified gunmen set alight two schools on Tuesday in Najrab district of the northern Kapisa province and thrown warning letters in the area warning parents to stop their children from schools. 8 Over 2,000 students were reading in two schools Abdul Rashid Shahid and Abdul Hadi Shahid. Director of Education Department Ustad Abdul Rasool told Pajhwok Afghan News unidentified miscreants torched Abdul Rashid Shahid Middle School in Pachghan valley of the district. He said the fire gutted administration room, library, two tents and large number of stationary including 600 text books. He said one tent in Abdul Hadi Shahid School was also torched, but local people prevented fire from engulfing to other rooms. He blamed enemies of the people and education for arson attack and said after setting fire to schools miscreants spread pamphlets warning parents to stop their children from schools. 40-year-old Farid Ahmad resident of Pachghan and teacher in Shahid Abdul Rashid School said:" We saw smoke rising from school buildings and prevented it from spreading to other parts." Religious scholars and other influential in this district condemned the arson attack. Member of the district religious scholars' council Maulvi Faiz Mohammad said:" We dont let our children remain illiterate, we want people to keep sending their children to schools." Provincial police Chief Major General Mohammad Liqa Andarabi blamed Taliban and Hezb-e-Islami party loyalists for the incidents. He also claimed Qari Nijat former commander of Hezb-e-Islami was behind the notorious arson attack on schools. Pajwok 8 juin 2006 School set ablaze in Balkh MAZAR-I-SHARIF, June 8 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Unidentified gunmen set ablaze overnight a school in Charbolak district of the northern Balkh province, officials said on Thursday. The unidentified armed men set alight Shaheed Ghulam Farooq Middle School in Arzan district, reducing to ashes classrooms and all other equipments. Head of the Charbolak district Gul Ahmad Paiman blamed 'enemies of the peace and education' for the incident and said the police had arrested two suspected men in line with the arson attack. About 400 students were studying in the school that would now read in the open or then in makeshift. Paiman appealed the people to help in reconstructing the school building to prevent the wastage of precious time of the children. Head of the Education Department in Balkh Maulvi Abdul Aziz said anti-government elements were behind the attack. He urged the law enforcement agencies to ensure security in the region that students should concentrate on their studies. Earlier, a school was torched in Chamtal district. The education ministry says more than 60 schools have been set ablaze in past four years, most of them in southern areas in addition to 120 other schools closed due to security apprehensions. 9 2007 Pajhwok 3 janvier 2007 Makeshift school torched in Nangarhar JALALABAD, Jan 03, 2007 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Unidentified gunmen set fire to a school, made for children of recently repatriated families, in Behsud district of the eastern Nangarhar province, security officials said Wednesday. The arson attack on an educational institution on Tuesday night is the first in the country during the new year. Spokesman for the provincial police headquarters Col. Abdul Ghafoor told Pajhwok Afghan News that the makeshift school made of tents by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) was built for children of former refugee families living in Murch Tangi area of the Behsud district. These refugee families had recently returned from neighboring Pakistan. Ghafoor said five tents, furniture and a lot of stationeries were gutted in the fire by 'enemies of education in our country', a term often referred to Taliban fighters. Gul Pacha Khalilzai, deputy head of the provincial education department, said about 2,000 children were studying in the school. Officials estimate around 200 schools have been torched by gunmen and hundreds more have been closed down due to insecurity in different parts of the war-shattered country during the past years. Pajhwok 22 janvier 2007 Taliban want to transfer terrorist camps into Afghanistan KABUL, Jan 22 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Minister for Education Hanif Atmar Monday said Taliban wanted to transfer terrorists' camps from Pakistan into Afghanistan. Addressing a press conference, the minister said they would launch military action against the Taliban schools if the militants wanted to materialise their announcement. Abdul Hai Mutmain, chief spokesman for Taliban, the other day announced they would build schools in southern provinces. Atmar said announcement of constructing schools was a glaring contrast in words and deeds of the Taliban as they were burning the already constructed schools and wanted to built new ones. Pointing to a madrassa in Bajaur agency, he said Pakistan government had mounted pressure on Taliban for closing their madrassas in Pakistan thus the militants wanted to transfer their schools into Afghanistan. The minister said neither the people would send their children to these schools and nor they would allow Taliban to construct schools in their regions. Recalling the burning of schools by Taliban, he questioned: "If Taliban really want to build schools, why the militants have burnt 183 schools and have shut others 396 schools in south?" Atmar said local councils had been formed in different parts of the country to guard the schools against militants. He said local councils had helped in defending 80 per cent of schools from torching by Taliban. However, Taliban said presence of foreign forces was the reason for schools closure and their burning. Earlier, a statement from Taliban said the Taliban-era curriculum would be taught in these schools. Taliban spokesman Abdul Hai Mutmain told Pajhwok Afghan News they were going to implement the programme in areas under "their control." Pajhwok 17 avril 2007 Explosion kills four schoolchildren in Herat HERAT CITY, Apr 17 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Four schoolchildren were killed and five more wounded in an explosion at a school in the western province of Herat on Tuesday. 10 Shafiq Fazli, police chief of the province, told Pajhwok the explosion was caused by a canon shell brought by the children from the ANA centre adjacent to the school. Fazli said the boys were playing with the shell during break when it went off. Four children died on the spot while five others sustained injuries and were rushed to hospital for treatment. The police chief ruled out involvement of terrorist activity in the blast and said it was an accident. Barkatullah Mohammadi, in charge of the emergency ward at Herat Civil Hospital, said condition of the injured was stable. Pajhwok 26 avril 2007 Problems of Afghan students in Iran discussed TEHRAN, April 26 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Problems of around 130,000 Afghan children enrolled in Iranian schools were discussed threadbare at a meeting here, a local media report said on Thursday. UNHCR representative Austin Brawni, Afghan Charge de Affaires Abdul Ghafur and UNICEF Bureau Director in Tehran Christian Salazar conferred on the situation of the Afghan children studying in Iran. Over the last three decades, IRNA quoted the Afghan charge de affaires as saying, three generations of his compatriots had moved to Iran, where more than a million of them were still living. Residence cards for most of the 130,000 Afghan students were a big problem, Abdul Ghafur said, adding the school network in his country was in a shambles as a result of decades of conflict. Thirty years of war have left 80 percent of schools demolished in Afghanistan, where two million children are taught in outdoor classes, according to the charge de affaires. Half of the six million students in his country were deprived of academic facilities, Ghafur continued. About 10 percent of the Afghan population was living in Iran, or 1-35th of the Iranian population comprised Afghans, said UNHCR representative Austin Brawni, who argued taking care of such a large number of refugees was no easy job. He observed: "The Afghan refugees here have urged Iranian policymakers and planners to shoulder a great deal of work for their residence, occupation, schooling and repatriation." Christian Salazar, UNICEF Bureau director in Tehran, informed the meeting the UN Fund for Children had allocated a separate budget for the education of Afghan children, especially in Sistan-Balochistan. He also referred to meetings with heads of Iranian schools where Afghan children were studying, Education Ministry officials and civil society members on resolving the problems facing the refugee children Bassirat 3 mai 2007 Afghanistan : une école incendiée dans la province du Logar Des hommes armés non identifiés ont incendié mercredi matin une école dans la province du Logar, au sud de Kaboul, a annoncé la chaîne privée Tolo TV. 2 000 livres scolaires, des bureaux, des chaises et d’autres équipements ont été détruits. L’an dernier, 185 écoles ont été incendiées en Afghanistan et plus de 300 ont été fermées à cause de l’insécurité, a récemment annoncé le ministre de l’Éducation. Avec Tolo TV Pahjhwok 7 mai 2007 Minors among six injured in Kabul rocket attack KABUL, May 7 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Six people, including two children, were injured when a rocket landed in a congested area of this capital city Monday morning, police and residents said. The rocket, fired from an undisclosed location, landed in front of a house in the Pul-i-Pacha area of the ninth police station around 7am this morning, residents said. Sazuddin, dweller of the area, said two minor girls and four men suffered injuries in the rocket attack. This correspondent witnessed a chopped off leg of one of the injured girls. Pointing to the limb, Sazuddin said the innocent girl had also received injuries in the chest. Forty-year-old Noorullah told Pajhwok his family was busy with breakfast when they heard a big bang in front of their house. He said the injured were rushed to hospital with the help of the local people. 11 Operational chief of the 9th police station Zarwali Andiwal said the explosion was caused by a rocket. However, he was unable to mention the direction from where it was fired. Crime branch chief at the Kabul police headquarters General Alishah Paktiawal said six people had been injured in the attack, the second in less than a fortnight. Earlier, a rocket landed near the Kabul International Airport; however, it did not cause losses to life or property. Zubair Babakarkhail Pajhwok 7 mai 2007 Child kidnapping cases drop in Kandahar KANDAHAR CITY, May 7 (Pajhwok Afghan News): A two-day workshop on violence against children started in this southern city on Monday. Officials of all the provincial departments, influential and common citizens are participating in the workshop to discuss and inform themselves about the problems faced by children in the society. Speaking on the occasion, director of works and social affairs department Dost Mohammad Arghistani said the graph of violence against children had considerably dropped over the previous few years. He said kidnapping of children was rampant in the province a few years back. However, the ratio had dropped as a result of the measures adopted by the provincial government. Arghistani said some problems, like non-availability of schooling facilities and child labour were still existed and the government was trying to overcome it by organising such workshops and seminars. Syed Abdul Sami Hashmi, official of the United Nations' Children Fund (UNICEF) in Kandahar, told Pajhwok such workshops were being organised to create awareness among people about violence against children. He said they were going to organise such workshops in other southern provinces to create awareness among people about the problems faced by children. One of the participants and official of the Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) Noor Ahmad said they had picked a lot of knowledge on the first day of the workshop. Children were the future builders of a nation and the society should train and equip them with knowledge and better skills instead of creating problems for them, said the participant. Pajhwok 22 mai 2007 Schools torched; police, ANA vehicles attacked KABUL, May 22 (Pajhwok Afghan News): One policeman was killed and six more people, including three policemen and as many local engineers working with a foreign security company, were wounded in two separate attacks in Kandahar and Ghazni on Tuesday. Separately, two schools were torched in Laghman and Logar provinces while a woman was killed and another committed suicide in Laghman. In the first happening, four policemen injured when their vehicle hit a roadside landmine in seventh district of Kandahar City Tuesday morning. One of the cops later succumbed to his injuries, officials said. Kandahar police chief Esmatullah Alizai said three civilians were also injured in the blast. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi said they were responsible for the attack that killed and injured seven policemen. In the Mula Nooh Baba area of Ghazni province, vehicle of the US security agency USPI stepped on a roadside landmine injuring three local engineers. Major Saleh Mahmood, commander of the highway police in Ghazni, told Pajhwok the three men injured in the attack were Afghans. Muhammad Anas Sharif, calling himself a Taliban commander in Ghazni, said all the people traveling in the vehicle were killed. Two schools were set ablaze in Laghman and Logar provinces last night. The arson attacks were carried out in Mehtarlam and Baraki Brak district, officials told Pajhwok. Ishaq Nangial, headmaster of the torched school in Mehtarlam, said the building was set on fire around 2am. It was partially damaged and some chairs and tables had also been gutted, he informed. 12 He said books and other documents were saved due to timely arrival of locals who helped extinguish the fire. Laghman security chief Najeebullah Hotak said investigations were underway to arrest the culprits. This is the first arson attack on a school in Laghman during the previous 10 months. In another such incident, armed men attacked a girls' middle school in Baraki Barak district of the central Logar province. Deputy head of the education department Muhammad Sadiq Stanikzai told Pajhwok unidentified miscreants first hit the school building with rockets and then set a tented room on fire. Pajhwok 26 mai 2007 Landmine blast kills five minors in Ghazni GHAZNI CITY, May 26 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Five minors were killed and two more wounded in a landmine blast in Andar district of the southern Ghazni province on Saturday. District chief Abdul Rahim Desiwal told Pajhwok the freshly planted mine exploded when the children tried to dig it out. The district chief blamed Taliban militants for planting the mine which killed and injured the innocent children in Lagharo village of the district. However, self-proclaimed Taliban commander Mullah Anas Sharif said their men did not plant the landmine. Andar is one of the lawless districts in the southern zone where attacks on foreign and Afghan soldiers and landmine blasts are quite frequent. Separately, a man allegedly killed his wife in Koh Band district of the central Kapisa province last night, officials told Pajhwok Afghan News. Chief of the district Qazi Noor Aqa said the family had recently returned from Iran. He said the woman, named Marzia, was shot dead by her husband last night. The alleged murderer, Abdullah, and two more people had been detained and were presently under investigations with the police, said the district chief Pajhwok 4 juin 2007 Taliban commander detained, minors killed in firing KABUL, June 4 (Pajhwok Afghan News): A suspected Taliban commander was detained during a joint operation by the Afghan and Coalition troops in the southern province of Kandahar. Separately, two young boys were killed and as many wounded in firing by unidentified men in Qalat, capital of the southern Zabul province. A statement from Bagram base said Taliban commander Mullah Sher Muhammad was captured during an operation in Kanuzai area of the Panjwayee district of Kandahar. No shot was fired and no one was injured during the operation by the Afghan army assisted by the Coalition troops, said the statement. The detainee was responsible for leading Taliban militants in the district as well as the kidnapping of four interpreters, three of whom were later killed by the rebels, it added. In the neighbouring province of Zabul, two minor boys were killed and as many wounded in firing by unidentified armed men, residents told Pajhwok Afghan News. The four boys were playing in a garden when hit by stray bullets killing two of them on the spot while two others sustained injuries, said Samiullah, dweller of the area. However, another resident Abdul Waheed said the children fell prey to firing by security personnel passing through the area. Chief of the highway police Jailani Khan expressed ignorance about the incident but said a supply convoy, on way from Qalat to Shajoy district, was twice attacked in Shah Husainkhail and Musakhail areas by armed men last evening. Separately, an Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier was killed and another sustained injuries in a landmine explosion in the same city. Commander of 205 Military Corps Rahmatullah Raufi told this news agency the police vehicle hit the landmine in an area between the districts of Shinkay and Sewray last evening. 13 Bassirat 13 juin 2007 Afghanistan : deux écolières abattues devant leur école Mardi, Des hommes armés circulant à moto ont ouvert le feu sur des jeunes Afghanes devant leur école, en tuant deux et en blessant six autres. L’incident s’est produit dans la région de Kalangar, dans la périphérie de Pol-e Alam, chef-lieu de la province du Logar, au sud de Kaboul. Les tireurs ont pris la fuite, ont précisé les responsables locaux. Avec Reuters et Pajhwok Bassirat 28 juin 2007 Afghanistan : trois écoles incendiées dans la province du Kounar Des hommes armés non identifiés ont incendié trois écoles primaires dans le district de Shigal, dans la province orientale du Kounar, ont annoncé mardi les autorités locales. Situées dans une région isolée, ces trois écoles accueillaient des centaines d’élèves. Avec Pajhwok Bassirat 10 juillet 2007 Afghanistan : un enfant tué dans une attaque imputable à la rébellion Dimanche, des rebelles ont lancé une attaque au mortier contre la Force internationale d’assistance à la sécurité dans la province orientale du Kounar. « Un garçon de dix ans a été tué lorsque deux tirs d’obus ont raté leurs cibles dans un village du district de Nari », a affirmé un communiqué de l’isaf. Trois civils et cinq soldats de l’Isaf ont également été blessés. Avec Xinhua Bassirat 10 juillet 2007 Afghanistan : un chef tâleb et deux enfants tués un raid de la coalition Tôt lundi matin, un chef tâleb et deux enfants ont été tués lors d’un raid de la coalition antiterroriste internationale dans la province de Paktia, au sud-est de l’Afghanistan. Lors du raid, des rebelles ont ouvert le feu sur les forces de la coalition et sur les soldats afghans. Leur riposte a fauché deux enfants et un chef tâleb, identifié comme étant le commandant Salim, a précisé un porte-parole de l’armée américaine. Une femme a également été blessée dans les échanges de tirs. Le commandant Salim était accusé d’avoir mené des attaques visant les troupes afghanes et étrangères. Bassirat 11 juillet 2007 Afghanistan : 2 000 déplacés par les combats dans la province de Helmand Environ 2 000 personnes, essentiellement des femmes et des enfants, ont fui leurs villages de la province de Helmand pour échapper aux combats qui opposent les taliban aux forces étrangères déployées dans la région. Avec IRIN Bassirat 23 août 2007 Afghanistan : deux jeunes bergers tués dans des échanges de tirs Le chef de la police dans la province de Ghazni, Ali Shah Ahmadzaï, a annoncé mercredi la mort de deux jeunes bergers d’une tribu nomades. Ils ont été pris dans des échanges de tirs entre combattants taliban et policiers. « Nous menons une enquête pour déterminer comment ces deux enfants ont été tués. Nous ne 14 savons pas encore s’ils ont été tués par des tirs de la police ou ennemis », a-t-il indiqué. L’incident s’est produit dans le village d’Hasankhel, dans le district de Rashidan. Plus tard dans la journée, les taliban ont affirmé avoir pris le contrôle du district à l’issue de combats qui ont duré deux heures. Deux policiers et un agent des services de renseignements ont été capturés. Selon les taliban, les deux policiers ont été exécutés. Ils étaient responsables de la mort des deux jeunes bergers, selon eux. Par ailleurs, quatre insurgés ont été tués dans le district d’Andar lors d’affrontements avec les forces de sécurité. Deux policiers ont été blessés, a annoncé le chef du district, Abdoul Rahim Desiwal. Avec AFP et Pajhwok Pajhwok 14 septembre 2007 Four child kidnappers arrested in Kabul KABUL, Sept 14 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Police said they had detained four members of a gang involved in kidnapping of children and recovered a minor from their possession last night. Crime investigation department chief Gen. Alishah Paktiawal told Pajhwok Afghan News the kidnappers were apprehended during an overnight operation in this capital city. He said the alleged criminals surrendered after a brief exchange of fire with the police. One policeman sustained minor injuries during the shootout. He said the four men were being investigated to get a clue to their other colleagues. He said the gang members were being chased by police since long. Incidents of child kidnappings have increased in the country. Three kidnappers were detained in Maidan Shahr, capital of the central Maidan Wardak province, by police and recovered an eight-year-old child from their possession last month. Pajhwiok 1er octobre 2007 Toy bomb kills two children in Khost KABUL, Oct 1 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Two children were killed and five more people were wounded as a toy bomb went off in Bak district of the southeastern Khost province, officials said. Police spokesman in Khost Wazir Badshah told Pajhwok Afghan News the explosion took place in Sperkay village last evening. He said unidentified people had placed the toy car in front of the house of Akbar Ali, resident of the village. The toy bomb went off as Akbar's children picked the car. Two children, aging four and six years, died in the blast while four more people, including mother of the two children, suffered injuries in the explosion. Dr. Gul Muhammadin Muhammadi, director of the public health department, told Pajhwok condition of one of the injured was precarious. Pajhwok 5 octobre 2007 Women, children among several dead in Coalition operation KABUL, Oct 5 (Pajhwok Afghan News): A number of civilians, including women and children, were killed and injured in an early morning operation by the US-led Coalition troops in Wazi Khwa district of the southeastern Paktika province. A statement issued here said "several non-combatants were found dead and several others found wounded" after a military action against militants in Wazi Khwa this morning. Although the Coalition statement did not mention the exact number of those killed and injured, local officials said they had retrieved seven bodies of civilians from a building targeted by the Coalition troops. Security chief of the province Farooq Sangari told Pajhwok the dead included both women and men while three more people had sustained injuries. He said hands of those found dead were tied behind with a rope. He added that four Coalition soldiers were also injured in the action. 15 Earlier, a statement from the Coalition's Bagram base said several militants were killed in an operation in Paktika province. The previous statement had said that no civilian was killed or injured in the swoop. A second statement about the same incident issued Friday afternoon said an assessment of the battle damages suggested that several non-combatants were killed and injured. The statement said the operation was conducted on the basis of "credible intelligence" suggesting presence of militants in the compounds. "Upon reaching the compound, the combined team met with heavy resistance." Several Coalition soldiers were wounded as a result of heavy fighting. They were evacuated to a Coalition medical facility for treatment. The statement said the Coalition troops responded with small-arms fire and precision-guided munitions "destroying only the building housing the militants while some damage occurred to other buildings on the compound". "During the follow-on assessment, Coalition forces found several adult males, an adult female and one child dead and two children wounded in the building housing the militants, who were engaging the combined force," the military statement said. It added that an investigation would be conducted into the incident. Pajhwok 17 octobre 2007 Doctor shot dead; minors injured in explosion GHAZNI CITY, Oct 17 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Unidentified armed men gunned down a doctor in Qarabagh district of Ghazni while four children were injured as a war-head exploded in Khwaja Omri district of the same province. Ghazni security chief Col. Muhammad Zaman told Pajhwok the explosion happened Wednesday afternoon in Qala-i-Naw area. The children had found the unexploded rocket somewhere. They were hitting it with stones when it went off, the security chief informed. Rahmatullah, an eyewitness, told this news agency that four children were injured in the blast. They were rushed to the district hospital for treatment. Separately, a doctor was killed in Qarabagh district last night. District police chief Abdul Shakoor Farahi alleged the slain named Muhammad Ikram was targeted by Taliban. Shakoor said the doctor had no enmity with any one in the area. "He was a sober man and the militants always target such people," said the police officer. In yet another incident, robbers have looted an NGO office in Qalat, capital of the neighbouring Zabul province, last night. The armed men broke into the office of the Ibn-i-Sina health NGO and decamped with computers and other equipment. They also took away three vehicles, said regional chief of the NGo Dr. Fazal Rahman. Pajhwok 17 octobre 2007 Two schools blown up in Herat HERAT CITY, Oct 17 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Unidentified miscreants blew up two school buildings in Shindand district of the western Herat province last night, officials said. Haji Muhammad Alam, district chief, told Pajhwok Afghan News four armed men destroyed buildings of the Naderia (boys) Middle School and Mir Sadaat Middle School for girls in the midnight by planting explosives. Ghulam Hazrat Tanha, head of the education department, said a classroom was destroyed while all the books were burnt in the boys' school as a result of the explosion. In the second explosion, two classrooms of the Mir Sadaat School were demolished. No one was killed or injured in the blasts, he added. Hundreds of boys and girls from the district were studying in the two schools. Meanwhile, construction of a school building was completed in Roye Do Aab district in the northern Samangan province. The building was erected at the cost of $70,000 provided by the Ministry of Education. Habibullah, deputy chief of the education department in the province, told Pajhwok Afghan News the one-storey construction had eight classrooms. 16 Pajhwok 20 octobre 2007 Minor killed in ISAF firing in Helmand KABUL, Oct 20 (Pajhwok Afghan News): A minor was killed in firing by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in southern Afghanistan. A statement from ISAF headquarters Saturday morning said the multinational force was investigating the death of the Afghan child on October 19. At an intersection located near Lashkargah, capital of the southern Helmand province, a vehicle approached an ISAF patrol and the soldiers issued clear and measured warning signals to keep the vehicle from getting too close, said the statement. However, the driver failed to heed a series of warnings and continued towards the patrol. One single warning shot was fired. The vehicle stopped. Sometime later, a family brought a child suffering from a gunshot wound to the head to an ISAF base for medical attention. Unfortunately, the child died, it added. The statement said the incident was being investigated. Bassirat vendredi 2 novembre 2007 Afghanistan : deux enfants tués dans une opération de la coalition dans l’Est Deux enfants ont été tués lors d’échanges de tirs entre des soldats de la coalition, appuyés par des militaires afghans, et un rebelle retranché dans une maison fortifiée, a annoncé jeudi l’armée américaine. L’incident s’est déroulé dans le district de Bati Kout, dans la province orientale du Nangarhâr. « Après être entrée dans le bâtiment, l’équipe a essuyé des tirs d’armes légères et a riposté », affirme le communiqué. « Lorsque les tirs ont cessé, l’équipe a fouillé la pièce et trouvé les deux enfants morts », ajoute le texte qui précise que six personnes ont également été arrêtées. L’activiste présumé a aussi été tué dans l’attaque. Deux autres civils, une femme et un enfant, ont été blessés. À l’annonce de la mort des deux enfants, des centaines de personnes se sont rassemblés dans le village où s’est déroulée l’attaque de la coalition pour dénoncer cette nouvelle bavure. Sele le chef du district de Bati Kout, les victimes sont des civils qui n’ont pas le moindre lien avec la rébellion. Avec Reuters et Pajhwok Bassirat 9 novembre 2007 Afghanistan : cinquante-neuf enfants tués dans l’attentat de Baghlan Le ministère de l’Éducation a annoncé vendredi que cinquante-neuf enfants et cinq instituteurs ont péri dans l’attentat qui a frappé une délégation de parlementaires qui visitaient la sucrerie de Baghlan, au nord-est de l’Afghanistan. Six parlementaires ont également été tués par l’explosion. « Nous avons 59 élèves, âgés de 8 à 18 ans, et cinq instituteurs tués dans cet attentat », a déclaré à l’AFP le porte-parole du ministère. Par ailleurs, la police afghane a annoncé vendredi l’arrestation de deux hommes dans le cadre de l’enquête, a annoncé le gouverneur de la province, Mohammad Alam Ishaqzaï. L’un est un imam, l’autre est un habitant de la ville industrielle du nord du pays, a-t-il dit. « Les premières investigations montrent que ces hommes ont pu avoir un rôle dans cet attentat », a-t-il dit sans donner plus de détails. Avec AFP et Reuters Pajhwok 15 novembre 2007 Tutor killed for teaching 'English and IT' in Paktia GARDEZ, Nov 15 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Student was reportedly killed by Taliban for tutoring 'English & Computer Science' subjects to boys and girls in high school of Sayeed Karam district in the southeastern Paktia province on Thursday. 17 Din Muhammad Darweesh spokesman for the provincial governor told Pajhwok Afghan News that Tawab a student of class ninth in Sayeed Karam high school used to tutor English and Computer to students at his spare time. Darweesh recalls "Taliban militants had many times warned him to stop the job. And ultimately shot him dead on Wednesday evening when insurgents entered into the school." Police were approached the area where two Taliban militants and to policemen were killed in the clash, he said. Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman however did not give any information about the incident. Bassirat 24 novembre 2007 Afghanistan : six enfants tués dans un attentat-suicide visant des Italiens Samedi matin, un volontaire de la mort à pied s’est fait exploser à Kaboul, tuant six enfants et blessant douze personnes, dont trois ingénieurs italiens qui travaillaient à la construction d’un pont. L’incident s’est produit dans la banlieue ouest de Kaboul. Avec AFP et Reuters Pajhwok 24 novembre 2007 Six dead, nine wounded in Paghman suicide bombing KABUL, Nov 24 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Six civilians including schoolchildren were killed and another nine wounded in a suicide attack in Paghman district of Kabul Saturday morning, the Interior Ministry said. Italian soldiers, three of whom were injured, were the target of the suicide bombing, the ministrys press office told Pajhwok Afghan News. The troops were on their way to the site of an uplift project in the district. A police officer said the suicide bomber on foot struck a vehicle of the Italian soldiers, building a bridge west of the capital city, in Bulbul Chashma area of Paghman. I saw several injured people being rushed in ambulances from Paghman to Kabul, said Rahimullah, a police official at a checkpoint in the Company neighbourhood. He had no further details of the incident. Pajhwok 5 décembre 2007 Families flee as operation in Taliban stronghold begins LASHKARGAH, Dec 5 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Afghan and NATO forces launched a widely expected operation in the Taliban-held Musa Qala district of the volatile Helmand province on Wednesday. The sweep prompted thousands of scared families into leaving homes for safer places. Provincial Governor Asadullah Wafa, speaking to Pajhwok Afghan News, revealed Afghan and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) soldiers began the crackdown this morning on Taliban militants, who have been in control of the restive district for about 10 months. Also on Wednesday, the US-led Coalition claimed killing several militants during an operation to disrupt foreign fighter and weapons facilitation networks in Garmser district of the same province. The troops attacked an individual believed to be associated with weapons smuggling operations. During a search of several compounds in Garmser, the Coalition added, the forces killed several armed militants, who posed an imminent threat. Arms and explosives seized during the search were removed to prevent their use by extremist forces. Helmand police chief Brig. Gen. Muhammad Hussein Andiwal confirmed the NATO-Afghan swoop in Musa Qala, a stronghold of Taliban insurgents. However, he gave no further details of the military campaign - apparently aimed at recapturing the district. Thousands of families are preparing to flee the embattled town, according to resident Farhad, who revealed many dwellers were streaming into the neighbouring Sangin district. With a view to avoiding the displacement of civilians, local tribal elders recently urged Afghan and foreign soldiers not to embark on an operation in the winter. Fearing the action for weeks, locals are left with no option but to shift elsewhere. 18 Meanwhile, Taliban denounced the launch of the swoop as a callous action. The operation would only aggravate the hardships of the people, Qari Yousaf Ahmadi told Pajhwok by phone over the telephone from an undisclosed location. Bassirat 8 décembre 2007 Afghanistan : un garçon de douze ans pendu par les taliban Dans le district de Sangin, un garçon de douze ans a été pendu dans un verger par les taliban, a annoncé samedi le chef de la police de la province de Helmand, Mohammad Hussain Andiwal. Le garçon a été accusé d’avoir transmis des informations sur les taliban au gouvernement et aux forces étrangères, a-t-il expliqué. Avec AP Pajhwok 8 décembre 2007 Taliban hang boy accused of spying for foreigners LASHKARGAH, Dec 8(Pajhwok Afghan News) Taliban fighters Saturday hanged a boy in suspicion of spying for coalition forces in Sangeen district of the restive Helmand province, security officials in the area claimed. Helmand police chief Maj. Gen Mohammad Hussain Andewal told Pajhwok Afghan News the boy aged 12 was hanged down from a tree in a garden of Haji Nizammudin village. Andewal added the youth was punished for allegations of spying for the international peace keeping troops in the area. Nek Mohammad a resident of the area told this news agency the boy had no enmity with any one in the district. Taliban have so far, however, issued no statement about the incident. It should be recalled here that rebels have killed 30 persons in Helmand province this year in suspicion of spying for foreign troops including a teenager hanged half a month back in Sangeen district. Pajhwok 9 décembre 2007 Insecurity keeps 80% students away from schools in Helmand LASHKARGAH, Dec 9 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Education minister Muhammad Hanif Attmar Saunday said 80 per cent of the students in Helmand province do not attend school due to insecurity in the province and asked the elders to help the ministry in this regard. Arriving on a one-day visit to the province Attmar expressed grave concern over the literacy situation in the restive Helmand province. Addressing a gathering attended by governor, provincial officials and hundreds of tribal elders the minister asked the notables to support the government to reopen the schools. "There were 224 schools in the province majority of them have however been burnt by the insurgents and some were closed due to lack of security", he lamented. He asked tribal elders to open schools through the local Community Councils. "Without your support and cooperation we would never able to provide education to our children in the province", the minister appealed. "I have come to Helmand with my hands filled, if you open schools in Helmand, we will construct buildings for schools, and the salary of the teachers will be increased to 20000 afghanis ($400) a month very soon", he added. Attmar told media after the gathering, A religious seminary would be established in each district to cater the need of the religious education. Asadullah Wafa, Helmand governor in his speech praised the education minister and considered him a strong cabinet member. He told tribal elders if they were unable to open schools their children will be deprived of the education. Denmark ambassador Frank Michael told the gathering, his country had severe security problems a few decades back , but after the people turned to education all the problems were resolved. 19 He promised to support education in Helmand province and added they are working on a plan to develop education in the province. A tribal elder of Kajaki Haji Abdul Wahid thanked the education minister and Denmark ambassador for visiting Helmand province and promised to provide all possible support to open schools in the province. After the gathering education minister met with male and female teachers separately and also held a closed door meeting with tribal elders. Pajhwok 11 décembre 2007 Women, child wounded in Kunar missile attack ASADABAD, Dec 11 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Four people including a child and three women were wounded in a missile attack in the restive eastern province of Kunar, a police chief said on Tuesday. Suspected Taliban militants fired the missiles from Karir area across the Durand Line into Pashad village of the Sarakan district, Kunar police head Brig. Gen. Abdul Jalal Jalal said. One of the missiles slammed into a house, injuring three women and a minor, Jalal informed Pajhwok Afghan News. The wounded were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment, he continued. Meanwhile, the rebels said they had carried out missile assaults on a police checkpoint in Sarakan and a foreign military base in Asadabad - the capital of Kunar where the guerrillas frequently target Afghan and foreign troops. The strike on the military centre in Asadabad caused huge losses to foreign soldiers, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed. But the police chief scorned his assertion as groundless. Mujahid went on to express deep regrets over the injuries inflicted on the four civilians in the Sarakan missile attack, saying they were not the target. During the current year, it was a fourth missile strike that caused civilian casualties. 20 2008 Pajhwok 4 janvier 2008 School building attacked, three held in Khost - Jan 4, 2008 - 20:01 KHOST, Jan 4 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Rockets were fired at a school building in the capital of south eastern Khost province bordering Kurram Agency of Pakistan while three people were arrested in connection of an explosion near a military vehicle in the Sabri district on Friday. Khost Education Department Director, Aziz Ahmad Hashmi said rockets were fired at the building of Muhammad Sidiqi Rohi high school situated in Haiderkhelo area in the west of Khost city which damaged a classroom, two generators causing no casualties. Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman told this news agency that they were not involved in the attack on school. Having six thousand students the school also has branches in the surrounding villages and recently a doublestorey building constructed for it Meanwhile in another incident of violence the sound of an explosion was heard in the Yaqubi area the district. Mujahid soon claimed the responsibility of the explosion and said several Afghan and coalition forces were killed and wounded in the explosion. However the NATO information center in western provinces has strongly rejected attack on its forces. Military Corps Spokesman, Mastak Zazi said military vehicles were targeted in the attack but it inflicted no casualties. He said three people of the area have been arrested in the case. In the district more than twenty militants having links with Taliban have been arrested in the joined operation by NATO and Afghan forces since last one week. The residents of the area however believe the detainees were local people having no relations with Taliban. Bassirat 22 janvier 2008 Afghanistan : 300 000 élèves privés d’une scolarité à cause de l’insurrection Le président afghan, Hamid Karzaï, a annoncé lundi que 300 000 élèves ne peuvent être scolarisés en raison des violences, soit 100 000 de plus qu’en 2007. « Malheureusement, environ 300 000 enfants ne peuvent pas aller à l’école par crainte des terroristes », a-t-il dit, en parlant des zones du sud du pays où l’insurrection est la plus violente. En revanche, dans des zones plus stables, un million d’enfants ont pu entrer en classe cette année, a expliqué le président, dont 40 % de filles. Avec Agence France-Presse Pajhwok 22 février 2008 Boy escapes from Taliban's captivity Sher Ahmad Haider - Feb 22, 2008 - 15:03 GHAZNI CITY (PAN): A young boy Friday succeeded in running away from the captivity of militants where he was instigated to execute suicide attack on troops in the Chenar village of restive Ander district in the southern Ghazni province, an official said. Allah Muhammad, 11 told Pajhwok Afghan News that he along his friend was kidnapped by five unidentified militants and was being persuaded for executing suicide attack at district headquarters. The boy said the militants took them to a mosque and were convincing that there were non-believers in the district. 21 "When we denied from carrying out an explosion then militants fastened our hands and ordered for explosive waistcoats in 15 minutes for us," he went on "When miscreants left mosque so I ran away but my friend Hameedullah did not." District chief Abdur Rahim Daisewal confirming the incident said that they would try to release the friend of Allah Muhammad from the militants hold. However, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman for southern zones, denounced the incident and termed it just to defame Taliban. "It is the conspiracy of Afghan intelligence officials only to disrepute the name of the Taliban among the local people," he concluded Pajhwok 23 février 2008 Man killed, two minor wounded in Kunar Khan Wali Salarzai - Feb 23, 2008 - 15:02 ASADABAD (PAN): One person was killed and two children injured last evening by the firing of NATO troops in the Manugi district of the eastern Kunar province, a resident said on Saturday. Bashirullah, a resident of the district, told Pajhwok Afghan News the dweller along his children had gone to the area where the entry of civilians was banned as the mountain was in the custody of militants. "On Friday NATO troops came and told to the local there are militants in the mountain and we want to target them," Bashirullah went on "Despite very insistence of the local they opened fire and killed one man and injured two children." Kunar Governor Syed Fazal Ullah Wahedi confirmed the incident and said the troops mistakenly opened fire. However, NATO media in charge for eastern zones, Shafiq Hamdam expressed ignorance from the incident. Bassirat 26 février 2008 Afghanistan : attentat-suicide raté dans la province de Farah Un adolescent s’est fait exploser samedi soir au volant d’une Toyota Corolla sur la route reliant la ville de Farah au district de Farahrod, ont annoncé les responsables des services de sécurité dans cette province de l’ouest de l’Afghanistan. L’attentat n’a pas fait d’autres victimes. Avec Pajhwok Pajhwok 27 février 2008 Young lovers arrested in Badakhshan Jafar Thayar - Feb 27, 2008 - 17:39 FAIZABAD (PAN): Badakhshan police have detained a teenage girl and a young boy while they were planning court-marriage without the consent of their parents, an official said on Wednesday. High Court Judge, Maulvi Abdul Wali Rashedi told to Pajhwok Afghan News a teenage girl, Fatima, belonging to Shorian village of the Yawanra district wanted to marry a 22-year-old, Ghamkhwar, from Sufaid Arad village of the Shehr-e-Buzarg district. A day earlier the couple had appealed for court-marriage and they were handed over to police until the completion of their marriage formalities according to the law, he added. Badakhshan Crimes Branch chief Col. Fazal Ahmad Nazari said the couple had been arrested and girl's father was informed to come and take the girl. Muhammad Qabil, father of the girl, told this news agency his daughter had been abducted by Ghamkhwar two days back, however, he remained tight-lipped regarding the incident. 22 Pajhwok 14 mars 2008 NATO airstrike kills 13 civilians in Helmand, locals say Akram Noorzai - Mar 14, 2008 - 10:21 LASHKARGAH (PAN): Residents of Grishk district in southern Helmand province claim 13 civilians including women and children were killed by bombings of foreign troops. However a spokesman for British forces in Helmand confirming the bombing claimed several Taliban militants were killed in the attack. Mohammadullah, a resident of Grishk told Pajhwok Afghan News 13 civilians were killed in the air strike in Hyderabad village of the district. Another resident Mohammad Shoib also confirming the killing of civilians said the bombing started after Taliban attacked a patrolling party of NATO forces. Qri Yousaf Ahmadi, a spokesman for Taliban also claimed eight or nine civilians were killed by the air strike of NATO forces. He said NATO forces resorted to air strike after Taliban clashed with them for three hours. "But the insurgents received no casualties in the fights," he added. Simon Millar, spokesman of British forces in Helmand told this news agency that several Taliban militants were killed in the bombing and added that no civilian was killed in the operation. Though NATO forces had announced two months back that the Hyderabad area had been recaptured from the militants but local people claim Taliban still dominated the area. Pajhwok 15 mars 2008 Child killed in Khost suicide attack Saboor Mangal - Mar 15, 2008 - 11:51 KHOST (PAN): A suicide bomber blew up an explosives-filled car near NATO troops in eastern Khost province Saturday, killing an Afghan child, officials said. Eyewitnesses told Pajhwok Afghan News the suicide attack was carried out on the NATO troops on KhostGardez highway in Dosaraka area of Mandozai district. "It was a suicide bombing against an ISAF convoy. One child was killed and three civilians were wounded," An official said. Khost police spokesman Wazir Badshah confirming the attack said the area has been cordoned off and the number of casualties was not known. However, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid phoned this new agency from undisclosed location and said the attack was carried out by one of their militants that destroyed two NATO vehicles and killed all the onboard soldiers. Details are soon to be followed. It was the second suicide attack in Afghanistan since Thursday when a blast in Kabul killed six civilians and wounded four international soldiers. Pajhwok 15 mars 2008 Taliban torch high school in Kandahar Bashir Nadem, Zabihullah Ihsas & Jafar Tayar - Mar 15, 2008 - 17:56 KANDAHAR CITY/ MAZAR-I-SHARIF (PAN): Taliban militants have torched a newly constructed school in the southern Kandahar, officials said on Saturday. Kandahar education director Haji Muhammad Anwar told Pajhwok Afghan News militants have torched a newly constructed high school named (Mian Abdul Hakim) in the sixth police station of the capital city on Friday night. He added an administrative office, one library and a stock-room along with its equipments were completely torched. The high school was inaugurated after its construction 20 days back where 200 girls and 1000 boys were studying. 23 Confirming the incident crime branch chief in the police headquarters said their policemen have started investigation in the area but no one has been captured yet. Meanwhile, local officials and villagers have prevented an attempt of setting ablaze a middle school by unidentified gunmen in Dokhta village of Dehdadi district in the northern Balkh province on Friday night. Balkh education director Muhammad Zahir Penhan said only glasses of a classroom were broken and all its chairs were burnt in the incident. Confirming the incident crime branch chief Brig. Gen. Abdul Rauf Taj said the incident was caused due to personal rivalries and they have also captured a man on the suspicion. In other news Badakhshan counter narcotics director Col. Imam Ali has informed torching 158 kilograms of heroin, 482 kilograms of narcotics and 58 kilograms of hashish in front of people in Faizabad the capital city of the province. Pajhwok 22 mars 2008 Two minors injured in missile attack Ahmad Javed Javed - Mar 22, 2008 - 18:28 MAHMUD RAQI (PAN): Two children of a family were wounded when some unidentified militants fired missiles in the Allasai district of the central Kapisa province, an eyewitness said on Saturday. Muhammad Naseem, an eyewitness, told Pajhwok Afghan News the wounded children who were sons of a shopkeeper in the district, have been shifted for further treatment to Kabul city. Four missiles were fired from undisclosed location which hit the region near the security check post, injuring two minors and slightly damaging three vehicles, he added. Naseem added soon after the incident the security officials targeted the mountainous area near the district. Provincial police chief Brig. Gen Matiullah Safi informed militants fired only one missile on the district and injured a child. Pajhwok 24 mars 2008 Teenagers kidnapped for suicide attack training Pajhwok Reporter - Mar 24, 2008 - 13:18 SWAT (PAN): Nine teenagers kidnapped from restive Swat valley of Pakistan are feared to have been trained by suspected militants for suicide bombing, police said on Monday. Police officials say they fear that militants have kidnapped the boys to use them for subversive activities. Four teenagers from the Taran, Gharo, and Aligram areas have gone missing from the hostel of the Excellence Academy of Education, Kabal. The Kabal police have registered an FIR. Three of the missing boys were from Aligram and one each was from Taran and Kalu Dagai. Pajhwok 27 mars 2008 Unidentified assailants blow up school in Khost Syed Jamal Asifkhel - Mar 27, 2008 - 11:58 KHOST CITY (PAN): A newly-constructed middle school building was blown up by unidentified miscreants in the southeastern Khost province late Wednesday night, officials said on Thursday. Armed assailants attacked the school in the Gulam area of the Sabri districts with bombs, as guards offered Isha (night) prayers inside the building, the headmaster told Pajhwok Afghan News. Muhammad Shoaib said the gunmen, who placed two powerful explosive devices inside the school, took out the security guards with them. The watchmen were freed soon after the explosions, confirmed by Governor Arsala Jamal. Around 220 boys and girls were enrolled in the school, whose construction was completed at a cost of 112,000 dollars some months back. "Our pupils will again have to study under tents," the principal lamented. Director Education Aziz Ahmed Hashmi, in a brief chat with this news agency, said he would ask tribal elders and councils - tasked with protecting schools - about the bomb attack. 24 Pajhwok 27 mars 2008 Unemployment, drought force youth out of Samangan Muhammad Barat - Mar 27, 2008 - 15:48 IBAK (PAN): In search of employment hundreds of youths leave northern Samangan province to the neighboring regions to help gain money and make ends meet. There were no employment opportunities and any projects to attract workers, the youths complain, on the other hand current drought caused the locals in this Northern Province to sell their animals on through away prices and go where they can help their families living. Nazar Muhammad, one of the fifty resident of Dar-e-Sof district of the province who made it to provincial capital Ibak and were destined to capital Kabul, told Pajhwok Afghan News:" I am father of six, we had nothing to eat, my farmland went dry due to lack of rain, " I am going to Kabul now, Allah knows if I can find a labor to gain money." Saifurrahman Samit district chief of Dar-e-Sof confirmed about 300 youths left for Kabul, Kandahar and Helmand provinces for work on daily basis, the youths leave one elder back at the village and go for search of labor." Unemployment had also increased the number of youths to join Afghan National Army, he added, only around ten had joined ANA in the past but due to lack of labor around over 300 had currently turned to ANA recruitment centers. Alhaj Saraj-ud-din head of the provincial council expressed concerns saying over 2000 youths left for other provinces and even to Pakistan and Iran during last 20 days for work. "People will face famine and consequently human catastrophe unless government provides job opportunities to people." He warned. 90 percent rain fed and 30 percent irrigated farmland had suffered lack of water and irrigation, Noor Muhammad deputy provincial agriculture department director said. There were 63000 hectors rain fed and 14000 hectors irrigated farmlands were in this province, he added. Bassirat 28 mars 2008 Afghanistan : 6,2 millions d’enfants ont retrouvé le chemin de l’école Une semaine après la rentrée des classes dans la partie nord du pays, l’heure est au premier bilan. Selon le porte-parole du ministère de l’Éducation, Hamid Elmi, plus de 500 000 nouveaux élèves ont intégré le système scolaire dans les régions du nord et du centre. Le nombre d’enfants scolarisés atteint désormais le chiffre de 6,2 millions, contre un million en 2003. Près de la moitié des enfants afghans, en grande partie des filles, ne sont cependant pas scolarisés, selon les Nations Unies. Dans le sud du pays, la rébellion empêche près de 300 000 enfants de se rendre à l’école. Pajhwok 2 aveil 2008 Gunmen attack school in Maidan Wardak Pajhwok Reporter - Apr 2, 2008 - 12:14 KABUL (PAN): Unidentified gunmen attacked a school, setting alight its tents, carpets and stationery store in Syedabad district of the central Maidan Wardak province, a hotbed of Taliban-linked militancy, officials said on Wednesday. School headmaster Moharar, speaking over the telephone to Pajhwok Afghan News from the area, said smoke billowed from the tents for hours after the overnight attack. Teachers and students were saddened to see the building ransacked, he added. The principal, who blamed Taliban insurgents for the incident, said his staff and pupils felt shell-shocked over what had happened to their school in Shash Kala area. The enemies of knowledge did not want the rising generation to receive education, he observed. 25 But the militants rejected the allegation levelled against them by the headmaster and said that torching schools was not their policy. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, condemning the attack, argued dozens of schools were operational in areas under their sway. Giving an eyewitness account, Ansarul Momineen School watchman Muhammad Alam said the attack happened at 9.00pm. Some 20 hooded gunmen set fire to the tents and store. We were beaten up before being thrown out of our room, he added. Pajhwok 4 avril 2008 700 Afghans killed by mines, explosives last year S. Mudassir Ali Shah - Apr 4, 2008 - 13:32 KABUL (PAN): The United Nations Mine Action Programme in Afghanistan (UNMAPA) head has claimed great progress has been made over the last six years in clearing the war-devastated country of landmines Mine action initiatives had cleared more than one billion square metres of land for all Afghans across Afghanistan, one of the most heavily-mined countries in the world, UNMAPA Dr Haider Reza said on Friday "More than 350,000 anti-personnel mines, more than 19,000 anti-tank mines and millions of pieces of other explosive elements have now been destroyed, Reza said in a statement UNAMA mailed to Pajhwok Afghan News. Mines and explosives killed over six hundred Afghans last year, an average of 50 people every month, the statement added. This figure is too high and we must all continue to work together to ensure that we reduce the number of people killed, injured and maimed by landmines in Afghanistan." The UNMAPA has provided mine-risk education to 17 million Afghans over the past 18 years in a country where over 2,300 communities still are affected by more than 789 million square metres of known minefields. Half of the victims of mines or unexploded ordinance are under the age of 18. Pajhwok 6 avril 2008 Coalition says insurgents blow up Paktika school Pajhwok Reporter - Apr 6, 2008 - 15:27 KABUL (PAN): Insurgents blew up a school built by Afghan citizens and sponsored by Coalition forces in the southeastern Paktika province, the US military said. Luckily the school was not in session at the time of the attack, and no one was hurt in the blast, the coalition said in a statement issued from the Bagram Airbase on Sunday. Afghan police responded to the incident and began an investigation, speaking to villagers and collecting evidence, the press release added. "Villagers told the police and Coalition forces that a man with his face veiled exited a taxi in front of the school. The explosion occurred approximately 20 minutes after the taxi departed," according to the statement. The coalition accused the militants of destroying schools and threatening to murder teachers in an attempt to undermine government efforts to provide a better education for Afghan youth. "Last year, we lost 220 students and teachers in the violence," the press release quoted Afghan education ministry spokesman Hamid Elmi as saying. The ministry and Coalition forces plan to build more than 1,100 schools in 2009. Bassirat 7 avril 2008 Afghanistan : une école incendiée dans la province de Koundouz Des hommes armés non identifiés ont incendié un collège et coupé les oreilles de l’homme affecté à sa surveillance, a rapporté l’agence de presse Pajhwok. L’incident s’est produit en fin de semaine dernière dans le district d’Imam Sahib. Le collège accueillait environ 600 élèves sous des tentes. Avec Pajhwok 26 Pajhwok 12 avril 2008 Two children released after payment of huge ransom Ahmad Shah Saber - Apr 12, 2008 - 17:55 ZARANJ (PAN): Two abducted children released after paying huge ransom in western Farah province. Abdul Ghafor, district chief of Joyien told Pajhwok Afghan News armed men abducted two brothers 11 and 13 two months back on road to Farah city. He said both children were released in exchange of huge ransom on Saturday. Ghafor said police wanted to release the children without ransom, but the parents had the fear that their children will be killed. District chief did not say anything about the amount of money; however a relative of the family Muhammad Sediq said the two brothers were released for two million afghanis. He said the abductors were threatening if the money was not provided they would kill the two brothers. District chief said the father of two brothers who was a police officer was abducted and killed by armed men last year. Pajhwok 14 avril 2008 Militants torch school in Kapisa Ahmad Javid Javid - Apr 14, 2008 - 18:20 MAHMUDRAQI (PAN): Militants mishandled the school personnel and guards before setting ablaze a middle school in Nijrab district of central Kapisa province early Monday. Sultan Muhammad Safi district chief of Nijrab told Pajhwok Afghan News armed Taliban tied the guards and the personnel and set Abdul Salam Shaheed school ablaze at around 4am on Monday. The locals rushed to rescue the school in the arson attack preventing the fire to engulf other parts of the building, he added, three classrooms and an administration office were gutted in the attack. He blamed enemies of the government and education for the attack on the middle school. Major. Gen Matiullah Safi police chief of Kapisa province confirmed the arson attack on school and blamed Taliban for the episode. None had been arrested so far, he added, they were trying to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to book. Qari Ahmadi who introduces himself as Taliban spokesman in Tagab district of the province claimed the responsibility for the attack; he claimed they carried out the attack as the girls were studying in this building. Taliban had banned girls' education during their regime in the entire country. Nijrab district education officer Qari Mayel said over 600 students most of them girls studied in the school. Bassirat 16 avril 2008 Pakistan : l’évacuation du camp de réfugiés de Jalozai a commencé Mardi, les forces de sécurité pakistanaises ont commencé l’évacuation du camp de réfugiés de Jalozai, à 35 km au sud-ouest de Peshawar, où vivent 80 000 réfugiés afghans. Les autorités pakistanaises considèrent que le camp est sous l’influence du Hezb-e Islami du chef rebelle Gôlbouddine Hekmatyâr, tout comme le camp de Shamshatou. Le camp de Jalozai est un terrain de recrutement idéal, 75 % de ses habitants ayant moins de 28 ans. Les réfugiés enregistrés auprès des autorités pakistanaises pourront résider encore pendant trois ans au Pakistan. Au-delà, ils seront susceptibles d’être expulsés vers l’Afghanistan. Or, selon la commission pakistanaise chargée des réfugiés afghans, plus de la moitié des habitants du camp de Jalozai sont nés au Pakistan. Avec Pajhwok et The Washington Post 27 Bassirat 22 avril 2008 Afghanistan : deux écoles incendiées dans la province du Logar À quelques dizaines de kilomètres au sud de Kaboul, dans la province du Logar, des militants ont incendié deux écoles mixtes. Les établissements accueillaient les filles le matin et les garçons l’après-midi. Au cours d’un autre incident qui s’est produit dimanche soir dans la province de Ghazni, un directeur d’école et deux enseignants ont été enlevés par des rebelles. Avec AFP AFP, 22 avril 2008 Deux écoles mixtes incendiées dans le logar AFGHANISTAN: DEUX éCOLES MIXTES INCENDIéES PAR DES RADICAUX ISLAMISTES Des extrémistes islamistes ont incendié deux écoles mixtes dans la nuit de lundi à mardi près de Kaboul, a annoncé la police. Par ailleurs, les insurgés talibans, qui avaient banni les filles des écoles quand ils étaient au pouvoir entre 1996 et 2001, ont revendiqué mardi l'enlèvement ce week-end, dans le centre du pays, d'un directeur d'école et de deux enseignants. Les deux écoles attaquées dans la nuit sont situées près de la petite bourgade de Logar, à 50 km au sud de la capitale afghane, selon la police qui a accusé les "ennemis de l'Afghanistan", l'expression qu'elle affectionne pour désigner les talibans. Dans la première, les assaillants ont roué de coups le directeur et l'on attaché avant d'incendier l'établissement qui comprenait huit classes, a indiqué à l'AFP l'adjoint au chef de la police locale, Abdul Majeed Latifi. Le toit s'est effondré. A peu près au même moment, une autre école était incendiée non loin de là. La police et les habitants ont pu éteindre le feu à temps et une seule classe, ainsi que le bureau du directeur, ont été endommagés, selon M. Latifi. "Il s'agissait aussi d'une école mixte où les garçons étudient le matin et les filles l'après-midi", a précisé l'officier. Les écoles et les enseignants afghans sont des cibles privilégiées des talibans, qui mènent une insurrection sanglante depuis qu'ils ont été chassés du pouvoir fin 2001 par une coalition militaire emmenée par les EtatsUnis. Les violences se sont considérablement intensifiées ces deux dernières années malgré la présence de quelque 70.000 soldats étrangers de deux forces internationales, l'une de l'Otan, l'autre sous commandement américain. En 2007, 220 élèves et enseignants ont été tués dans ces violences, selon le ministère de l'Education. Et selon l'UNICEF, 236 écoles ont été attaquées l'année dernière et déjà 23 depuis le début de 2008. Dimanche soir, des hommes armés ont kidnappé un directeur d'école à Ghazni, un bastion des talibans dans le centre du pays, selon les autorités locales. Ils l'ont forcé à révéler l'adresse de deux enseignants et les ont aussi enlevés. Le principal porte-parole des talibans, Zabihullah Mujahed, a revendiqué ces enlèvements dans un entretien au téléphone avec l'AFP. url : http://www.lemonde.fr/web/depeches/0,14-0,39-35163565@7-60,0.html Pajhwok 21 avril 2008 Kidnapping cases on the rise in Ghazni GHAZNI CITY (PAN): Suspected militants abducted two youngsters in separate incidents in southern Ghazni province, security officials said Monday. Salih Muhammad Masaud police chief of Qarabagh district of the province told Pajhwok Afghan News Taliban fighters kidnapped son of a headmaster of Zarsang High School here today. They had launched an investigation into the incident but were yet to find out the culprits. 28 Outlaws stopped a car and picked the youngster, he added, fate of the abducted was yet to be known, he added. An official of the provincial education department on condition of anonymity introduced headmaster of the high school as Muhammad Esa Ahmadi but said it was yet unknown why and who kidnapped his son. There is no immediate comment on the episode from Taliban. By the same token unidentified gunmen snatched son of a local trader in Ghazni city, Zia Wali Zadran spokesman for the provincial governor told Pajhwok Afghan News Taliban were involved in the crime. The captors had contacted the family of their captive and had demanded for 500,000 dollars ransom for release of the abducted. Unidentified gunmen believed to be Taliban abducted two teachers and a cleaner of Arezo middle school here, fate of the abducted were not known so far. Pajhwok 22 avril 2008 Bombing kills woman, injures children in Laghman JALALABAD (PAN): An hour bombardment left one woman killed two children wounded and a large number of animals perished in the eastern Laghman province early on Tuesday morning, officials said. The bombing took place in Sinzali and Badpakh areas bordering with the eastern Sarobi district of the capital Kabul around 40-kilometres away from Mehtarlam the capital city of the province. The bombing started at 8:00am and lasted for an hour said a tribal elder Muhammad Wazir, a resident of Badpakh area. "Here is no Al-Qaeda and no Taliban militants hiding in the area but we don't know why the foreigners bomb the area" said Muhammad Agha another resident of the same area. Deputy police chief Col. Najibullah Hotak has also confirmed the bombing but he said he has no information about the main cause of bombing. Dr. Shafiq Hamdam spokesman for US-led coalition troops in the eastern zone has also showed unawareness about the cause of the bombing. Pajhwok 4 mai 2008 Girls school torched in Swat valley PESHAWAR (PAN): Some unidentified armed men wearing military uniform set at fire Government Girls Higher Secondary School at Charbagh area in Swat district in Pakistan, sources said on Sunday. They said that a strong group of over 80 persons wearing military uniforms torched Government Girls Higher Secondary School at Chabagh area here, as a result five rooms of the school were gutted and all the furniture of the school burnt, however no loss of life have so far been reported in the incident. Pajhwok 4 mai 2008 Insecurity keeps 40,000 children off the school in Kandahar KANDAHAR CITY, (PAN): Officials in the southern volatile Kandahar province say 137 schools have been closed down here, depriving some 40,000 children of education due to the ongoing insurgency . Head of the education department of Kandahar, Muhammad Anwar, told Pajhwok Afghan News that out of 360 existing schools there, 232 were open and the rest were closed due to increasing insecurity . He said all the schools which were being closed by force were located in volatile districts where Taliban's attacks and bombings had hindered school children, teachers and administrative workers to attend . He said numerous schools were burnt by militants in the past few months that also contributed to more schools to be closed under threats from the Taliban. Anwar said he was talking to tribal elders of the districs, members of the provincial council and clerics to help open the schools . He said tribal elders of Shahwalikot and Khariz districts have already launched efforts to reopen the schools and had some success so far . The education chief added that reconstruction of new schools was also going well at the same time. Anwar added that 112 schools were to be rebuilt soon and that 51 of them were already in the final touches . The education department head said 112,900 children were going to schools this year, out of that 34,500 were girls . 29 He also said the education ministry has planned building one madrassa (Islamic seminary) in 2008 for each district of Kandahar. Anwar added that construction of the madrassas in Panjwayee, Arghandab and Spin Boldak districts have already started . Tribal elders and local people have welcomed the government's plan to build madrassas for them and believe that this will help prevent the local youth to go to outside from where they would bring hardline ideologies. Mentioning the problems the education sector faces in Kandahar, Anwar said one of the biggest problems was lack of competent teachers . Pajhwok 5 mai 2008 School building blown up in Paktika KHOST CITY (PAN): A school has been blown up and its books and equipments have been burnt in the southeastern Paktika province by unidentified gunmen, officials said on Monday. Mastak Khan, spokesman for the 203 Thunder Military Corps, told Pajhwok Afghan News unidentified gunmen have blown up the school building after planting three bombs in its campus in Barmal district of the volatile province late on Saturday night. He added the school building and all the books and equipments have been torched. Investigation has been started about the incident but no one has been captured on the suspicion of the incident yet, he continued. Pajhwok 17 mai 2008 Unidentified gunmen torch girls' school in Logar PUL-I-ALAM (PAN): The newly inaugurated girls' school of Porak village in central Logar province was set ablaze by armed insurgents on Friday night. Kamaluddin Zadran, director education department of the province told Pajhwok Afghan News on Saturday the school was set on fire at 1:00 am. He said two administrative rooms, the guard room and the library have been destroyed. He said the guard was hand cuffed by the armed people and transferred to a far forest. Fazl Ahmad, a guard of the school present on the occasion of the incident said about 20 masked armed men put fire to school. He said armed men broke into the school, tied the guards and transferred them in a car to a forest. He added the armed men had beaten them up and threatened them to quit the jobs other wise it will cost their lives. Fazl Ahmad said they stayed all night near the river in forest and by the morning locals opened them. The newly appointed principal of the school Omar Jan said 900 students have been enrolled to the school but about 150 were present on Saturday. The insurgents have also written threats on the outer wall of the school saying that girls should not be sent to school afterwards, otherwise they will be killed on the way to school. An official of Logar police said they received reports from the education department head about the burning of school, but they did not send police due to fear of ambush. Zabiullah Mujahed, a Taliban spokesman said the school was not set to fire by Taliban. He considered it an action of those who want to defame Taliban. According to officials of education department in the province four other girls schools have been set on fire during current year. 30 School blown up, two road workers injured in Logar Pajwhok Shahpur Arab - Jun 1, 2008 - 15:42 PUL-I-ALAM (PAN): As unidentified gunmen blew up a school building, two road workers were shot injured by militants in the central Logar province, an official said on Sunday. Deputy Director of Education Department Muhammad Sadiq Stanikzai told Pajhwok Afghan News that unknown assailants blew up the Pangram High School late Saturday. Hands of the guards were tied behind their backs before they were forced out and the building was blown up in the volatile Surkh district, said the official, who reckoned the school suffered heavy damage. Meanwhile, two workers of a road construction company were wounded by unknown assailants in the same district. Dawood who suffered injuries in the assault said: "All workers ran pell-mell as a result of fire at approximately 7:00am." In a critical condition, both the wounded hailed from the Kharwar district, said Dr. Ahmadullah Nalan of the local civil hospital. Afghanistan : une école détruite et deux ouvriers tués dans la province du Logar Bassirat 2 juin Samedi, des hommes armés non identifiés ont détruit un lycée dans le district de Sorkh, dans la province du Logar, au sud de Kaboul, ont annoncé les responsables locaux du ministère de l’éducation. Au préalable, ils avaient neutralisé les deux gardes chargés de surveiller l’établissement scolaire. Par ailleurs, deux ouvriers travaillant pour une entreprise de travaux publics ont été blessés par des tirs d’armes à feu dans le même district. Avec Pajhwok Girls' school torched in Baghlan Pajwhok Sher Muhammad Jahish - Jun 7, 2008 - 19:21 PUL-I-KHUMRI (PAN): Unidentified gunmen torched a girls' school in Khinjan district of the northern Baghlan province, local people and officials said on Saturday. The Abdul Wasi Shaheed Secondary High School for girls was set on fire by a group of armed men late last night, said Haji Gul, a local elder. The school was operating in several tents. He said three of the tents that formed a basic part of the school were torched after the gunmen poured oil on them. Guards of the schools were threatened and were forced to let the gunmen enter and burn the tents. The guards were told if the school was reopened, lives of teachers and schoolgirls might be at risk, according to Haji Gul. Head of the Baghlan education department Muhammad Sarwar Wasifi said only one tent recently contributed by the Provincial Reconstruction Team was burnt in the fire. He said the gunmen tied up hands and legs of the two guards of the school and then set fire to the tents. Some 700 girls were attending the school. School torching has been rare in northern Afghanistan, but it increased recently. Last week a boys' school was burnt in Charshanghoy district of Faryab province by gunmen suspected to be linked to the Taliban. The government officials point finger at the Taliban for the crime, however the Taliban have never admitted that they are behind attacks on education institutions. 31 Taliban's threats shrink attendance in schools Pajhwok correspondent - Jun 7, 2008 - 20:33 GHAZNI CITY (PAN): Four girls' schools are about to close down their operations due to decrease in number of students and staffers following threatening pamphlets issued by Taliban in the southern Ghazni province. School officials said the letters pasted on the school gates by Taliban at night had threatened students to death in the southern city of Ghazni a week back. Jahan Malika is one of the four schools in this city where there has been considerable decrease in the number of students and teachers. Behishta a ninth grade student said the number of students in her class decreased from 50 to 12 in a week time after the threats, similar was the case about the teaching staff, she added: "we studied only four hours during last one week." Joulina Faizi head of the provincial council to inspect schools said the threats had scared both teachers and students. They had talked with the education and security organs on the issue she added. Ustad Habibur Rahman, head of the provincial council worried on the deteriorating educational condition. Ten out of 50 schools in the city of southern Ghazni province were girls' schools with only four of them closed down so far. Sayed Ibrar Hanon while admitted threats to students refused closure of any school in the southern city he added, there has been decrease in the number of students and staffers but the schools have not been closed down. Only 13 schools across the province have been closed by the enemies of government during the last few years. Afghanistan : démantèlement d’un gang qui enlevait et violait des enfants Bassirat Jeudi 12 juin Les services secrets afghans ont annoncé jeudi le démantèlement à Kaboul d’un groupe de quatre criminels accusés d’avoir enlevé et violé cinq enfants de moins de douze ans. « Ils enlevaient des enfants, les violaient et enregistraient les images des viols pour le compte de réseaux avec lesquels ils étaient en contact », a affirmé Sayyid Ansari, porte-parole de la Direction nationale de la sécurité (NDS), au cours d’une conférence de presse. Par ailleurs dans la nuit de mercredi à jeudi, le chef d’un autre groupe criminel spécialisé dans l’enlèvement crapuleux a été tué et deux personnes ont été arrêtées au cours d’une opération de sauvetage d’un otage, a indiqué Ansari. Dimanche, le chef d’un autre groupe de ravisseurs a été arrêté avec deux complices, toujours à Kaboul, selon lui. Avec AFP School building damaged in Khost Pajhwok Saboor Mangal - Jun 12, 2008 - 17:51 KHOST CITY (PAN): Unknown armedmen detonated a newly constructed school in Baak district of southeastern Khost province. Sayed Musa Majroh, media officer of education department in Khost province told Pajhwok Afghan News unknown armed men detonated a girls' and boys school in Badi Molayan village of the district on Wednesday night which destroyed three classrooms. He said the school was constructed at a cost of $32000, granted from World Bank which was not yet formally inaugurated. However Muhibullah, a residence of the area said six classrooms of the school were destroyed in the explosion. He said 300 boys and girls were studying in the tents and under trees due to the destruction of school. The tents and library of the school were burnt twice in the past. According education minister Muhammad Hanif Attmar, 53 schools were burnt last year and about 187 schools in 2006 and 85 teachers and students were killed. 32 Boy killed as Taliban attack Ghazni Pajhwok Sher Ahmad Haidar - Jun 16, 2008 - 17:55 GHAZNI CITY (PAN): A boy was killed and another wounded in two separately rocket attacks by Taliban militants late on Sunday night in the troubled southern province of Ghazni, officials said on Monday. Deputy police chief Col. Muhammad Zaman told Pajhwok Afghan News the Taliban militants attacked the lawless Muqor and Rashidan districts late on Sunday night. He added there were no casualties caused to the policemen where a small boy was killed in attack carried out at Rashidan district that was captured by insurgents some 20 days back who took the district chief along with eight policemen with them and their fate is still unknown. Col. Barakatullah Muqor district police chief said the militants fired eight mortar shells at the district headquarters where another small boy suffered injuries after one of the shells landed in a house near the district headquarters at 8:00pm. The small boy wounded in the overnight attack was in stable condition where the police and the district headquarters received no casualties and damages, the police chief said adding the police and Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers also launched a retaliatory fire but he did not has information about casualties caused to the rebels. The Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has claimed responsibility for the two attacks but he had no exact information about police casualties Taliban close schools in Qarabagh Pajhwok Sher Ahmad Haidar - Jun 16, 2008 - 17:53 KABUL (PAN): Some 35,000 students in Qarabagh district of the southern Ghazni province have been offschool since more than a week after the Taliban banned all schools there. Local officials said on Monday that they were threatened by the Taliban to close schools; otherwise their lives will be in danger. Abdul Qayum, principal of Sultan Mahmood High School, the largest one in Qarabagh, said a Taliban commander called him and ordered to close his school or be ready for attacks in a short time. He said all other schools in the district were similarly threatened by phone calls from Taliban commanders or with direct intervention of the militants. All 55 schools of Qarabagh, some 60 kilometers south from Ghazni city, have been closed off since 10 days. Qarabagh district chief Habibullah Bashi said local tribal elders were talking to the Taliban to reopen the schools. He said the Taliban have now entered into war against the public after failing to defeat the government in its attacks. Muhammad Rahim Tarakai, a local elder in Qarabagh, said they have discussed the issue with the Taliban commanders in the area, but they have not taken any action yet. Earlier, the Taliban have closed all schools in the neighboring Andar district of Ghazni. Ghazni is one of the most insecure provinces in the south School torched in Logar Pajhwok Shahpor Arab - Jun 21, 2008 - 14:03 PUL-E-ALAM (PAN): Unidentified gunmen set ablaze a school in central Logar province, officials said Saturday. The school named as Shah Abdul Fatih was torched on Friday night, Kamaluddin Zadran education director of Logar province told Pajhwok Afghan News the gunmen first tied up and beaten two guards of the school and afterwards torched the school. Administration office of the school had been totally gutted in the arson attack, he added. Excoriating the assault, he blamed enemies of the education and the country for the attack. Around 900 boys and girls from 15 villages of the district studied in this school, he lamented, saying the assailants had warned teachers and students to avoid school otherwise they will risk their lives. The incident caused only 40% of the students to show up in their classes, he added. None had been arrested thus far for the attack, a local security official on condition of anonymity told this news agency. 33 About seven schools have been attacked by the enemies in this province during last one year. Three schoolgirls injured in Kunduz suicide attack Pajhwok Abdul Matin Sarfaraz - Jul 6, 2008 - 15:19 KUNDUZ CITY (PAN): Three schoolgirls were wounded in a suicide attack on soldiers of the German Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Kunduz Sunday morning. The attack took place in Dobandi area of Chardara district, where the bomber rammed his explosives-packed car into a PRT convoy, the provincial police chief informed Pajhwok Afghan News. Brig. Gen. Abdul Rahman Aqtash said the attacker was killed and one PRT vehicle destroyed in the explosion that injured three school students. One of the wounded schoolgirls is reported to be in a critical condition. Malim Nazir, administrative head of Chardara, said the PRT troops had come to discuss security-related issues with him and the district police chief. The team came under suicide attack on its way back to the Kunduz City. Nazir added one vehicle belonging to the PRT was comprehensively destroyed and a roadside electricity line damaged, cutting off power supply to the district. But Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the bomber, a fighter of the movement, destroyed four PRT jeeps and killed 12 troops. He claimed the explosion was carried out by Musa, a resident of Chardara. It was the third suicide attack against the Kunduz-based German PRT during the current year and 62nd in Afghanistan since the beginning of 2008. Two cops killed, girls' school torched Pajhwok Sher Ahmad Haidar and Shahpur Arab - Jul 9, 2008 - 19:07 GHAZNI CITY & ASADABAD (PAN): Two police and seven Taliban fighters were killed in fresh violence in the southern Ghazni province while a girl school was torched in the central Logar province, officials said on Wednesday. Officials in Qarabagh district of Ghazni said the Taliban killed two cops in an attack on their checkpoint this morning. Police chief of Ghazni, Colonel Abdul Ghafoor said the Taliban attacked the police checkpoint in Mirak town, killing two cops and wounding one. Six attackers were killed in shooting of the police in response, said Ghafoor. He said another police was wounded and a Taliban fighter was killed in Nawrozkhel village of the same district today. Ghafoor added that a third police was wounded in the neighboring Andar districts Sinai village on the Ghazni-Paktika highway. He said a Taliban fighter attacked a police checkpoint and escaped. However, the Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said two policemen were killed in the Andar attack. In the central Logar province, unidentified armed men torched a girl school late last night. A local security official not wishing to be named told Pajhwok the gunmen handcuffed the guards at 11:30 pm last night and then set the school on fire in Charkh district. He said 500 girls were attending the secondary school in Shash Qala village. 47 civilians killed in US-led strikes in Nangarhar Pajhwok correspondent - Jul 11, 2008 - 20:49 JALALABAD (PAN): An official investigation has found that US-led air strikes a week ago struck a wedding and killed 47 Afghan civilians, most of them women and children, officials said. The US-led coalition had said that only militants died in the July 6 strikes in the mountains of eastern Nangarhar province. A nine-member team appointed by President Hamid Karzai to look into the Nangarhar incident found that only civilians were killed in remote Deh Bala district, said the head of the mission, Burhanullah Shinwari. 34 "We found that 47 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed in the air strikes and another nine were wounded," said Shinwari, who is also the deputy speaker of senate. Two young Taliban killed, four teachers wounded Pajhwok Sayed Jamal Asif Khil - Jul 17, 2008 - 17:01 GARDIZ (PAN): Two young Taliban and four teachers of a religious seminary wounded during the study when armed Taliban and security forces clashed on Gardiz-Khost highway. The clash took place in Wazi Zadran district of Paktia province on Thursday morning. District chief of Wazi Zadran told Pajhwok Afghan News that convey of ammunition and its security guards were attacked in Ghawargi area. He added during the clash a religious seminary also came under fire. The district chief said two students of the seminary were killed and four teachers wounded. He said the killed students were 12 and 15 years old. Zabiullah Mujahed, Taliban spokesman said Taliban attacked convey of Afghan forces and destroyed three vehicles and killed 12 troops. He showed unawareness over the casualties to students of the seminary. But the district chief said one vehicle was torched but no one has been hurt. Two minors die in Qarabagh blast Pajhwok Habibur Rahman Ibrahimi - Jul 22, 2008 - 16:38 KABUL (PAN): At least two minors died when a bomb exploded in Qarabagh district of this capital on Monday night, security officials said Tuesday. Brig Gen Ali Shah Paktiawal director of crimes investigations department in the Kabul police headquarters told Pajhwok Afghan News the explosion was caused by explosives left in the area from past. The blast had occurred in Dasht-e-Ali of the district, he added, police had reached to the area right after the bang sound of the blast and handed the dead bodies of the children to their families. Muhammad Ayub police chief of Qarabagh district told Pajhwok Afghan News the blast killed 12 year old Muhammad Zahir and 13 years old Wakdari both from same family. Paktiawal also informed arresting a Pakistani national for suspected connection to terrorist activities, he said, police arrested a suspected person who was roaming west of the airport. Police in Kabul also arrested an armed man who had threatened to kill another resident in this city, police officials concluded. Majority of schools closed in Helmand Pajhwok Zainullah Stanekzai - Jul 24, 2008 - 19:45 LASHKARGAH (PAN): Over 169 schools of around 227 schools have been closed and 59 are not functioning normally in southern province of Helmand, provincial governor said on Thursday. Addressing to a tribal meeting held for reopening schools in the lawless province Gulab Mangal said his province having no educated people that are why violence was on the rise. The province would not face such violence if schools were opened for children, he pointed out. He promised that all the schools will open at any cost and will bring various changes in education sector of the province from start of the new education year that will start on September 5th. "School must be reopened for schoolchildren if it is by talking with the militants or if by the help of tribal gatherings" he said. More than 4000 students are being deprived of education, according to the information of education department. The tribal gathering held for the reopening of schools in the restive province have participated by 400 tribal elders, government officials and religious scholars. Fifteen schools have even closed in the provincial capital, Lashkargah, said education director Sher Agha Safi. All the schools are not closed by the anti government movement of Taliban guerrillas but some schools are being closed by the area people because of low salaries to the schoolteachers and because of other problems, said Mukhtar Ahmad, head of Hajj and Auqaf department. 35 Two kids killed as ISAF opens fire on a car in Kandahar Pajhwok Bashir Ahmad Nadem - Jul 28, 2008 - 19:49 KABUL (PAN): NATO forces killed two children and wounded a man in the southern Kandahar province as the vehicle they were traveling in ignored the ' stay away' warnings. A statement from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Kabul said the vehicle was being driven in a threatening manner and ignored the repeated warnings. ISAF was conducting a security patrol when they were approached by the vehicle, said the statement . The vehicle was directed to keep its distance but it did not comply. ISAF soldiers gave hand, arm and audio signals as well as flashing light signals to stop. When the vehicle was 10 metres away and still approaching rapidly, the ISAF soldiers, fearing an attack, fired on it, said the statement . The injured civilians were treated by ISAF medical personnel at the scene. An adult male, who had suffered serious wounds, was taken by the local police to Mirwais Hospital for further checks, the statement added. ISAF called the incident a tragic happening and said its soldiers were trained to take the appropriate steps to minimize civilian casualties, but they must take action to protect themselves when threatened . ISAF deeply regrets the outcome of this incident which will be fully investigated, said the statement. Most of the troops based under the ISAF framework in Kandahar are Canadian soldiers. Civilian casualties mostly caused by military operations of foreign troops have become a sensitive issue that sparked widespread resentment and demonstrations in the past one year . Earlier this month, up to 60 civilians was killed in bombings in the eastern Nangarhar and Nuristan provinces. Afghan authorities have frequently warned of consequences of the civilian casualties and asked foreign troops to act in coordination with local government officials while conducting military operations in an area Primary school torched in Kunduz Pajhwok Abdul Matin Sarfaraz - Jul 28, 2008 - 17:09 KUNDUZ CITY (PAN): Unidentified gunmen torched a primary school in northern Kunduz province on Sunday night, security officials said Monday. Brig Gen Abdul Rahman Aqtash security chief of the provincial police headquarters told Pajhwok Afghan News the school was set ablaze on Monday morning. There were four tents in the school yard and all were gutted in the arson attack, he blamed the enemies of government for the attack. They had sent a delegation to the area to investigate into the incident. Muhammad Sarwar deputy director of the education department in the province said the school had over 200 students. Zabihullah Mujahid a Taliban spokesman rejected their fighters' involvement in the assault on educational institution but said they were against the curriculum set by the government. Others commit such arson attack on educational institutions to defame Taliban, he claimed. German PRT based in the province has promised to construct the school besides providing furniture to it. Another school set ablaze in Kunduz Pajhwok Abdul Matin Sarfaraz - Jul 30, 2008 - 13:10 KUNDUZ CITY (PAN): Unidentified gunmen set ablaze a school in the Imam Saheb district of the northern Kunduz province, a senior official said on Wednesday. District chief Mualim Juma told Pajhwok Afghan News the Gunbad primary school, where more than 300 students were enrolled, was completely destroyed. He said the students did not come to the school today in the wake of the arson attack. If an alternative was not found soon, the pupils would be forced to discontinue their studies, he warned. Juma viewed the burning of the school as the handiwork of government opponents, a term used for Taliban insurgents. This is the second school torched in the last four days in the Kunduz province. A primary school was burnt in Chardara district of earlier in the week. Meanwhile, Taliban denied their involvement in torching schools. Although the militants opposed the present curriculum, their spokesman said, they were averse to burning schools. Zabihullah Mujahid argued the schools were torched by the elements who wanted to defame Taliban. 36 According to the Education Ministry, more than 185 schools were torched during 2007 in various parts of Afghanistan, an impoverished country with a dismally low literacy rate. Unknown gunmen torch schoolbooks in Ghazni Zarghona Salehi - Aug 25, 2008 - 17:43 KABUL (PAN): Unidentified gunmen set on-fire over 100,000 copies of newly printed books that were planed to be sent to southern Kandahar province in troubled southern province of Ghazni, Education ministry in a statement said on Monday. In a statement emailed to Pajhwok Afghan News the officials said the books torched on main KabulKandahar Highway were included religious books and were planed to be distributed to schoolchildren in the lawless province of Kandahar . The statement added the torching of schoolbooks is the crime committed by none else but the enemies of education and Afghanistan. Security forces should start investigation to capture the perpetrators of the incident statement urged. The education ministry has called on tribal elders, influential and scholars to help Afghan government in the sector of education. Sahib Khan administrative head of the lawless Muqar district where the books were torched has showed unawareness about the incident. A regional Taliban commander has also condemned the torching of schoolbooks and said they have no information about the incident. The books from first class up to class 12th were published with the worth of about 15 million US dollars by the support of World Bank, United States of America and Danish Government . This is the first time that unidentified gunmen torched schoolbooks education officials have said that more than 279 schools have been torched or destroyed by Taliban guerrillas especially in the southern province of Kandahar. Teenaged boy killed, ten injured in blast Munir Ahmad Mujadedi - Aug 31, 2008 - 16:24 KABUL (PAN): A teenager was killed and ten others injured when a gas cylinder exploded in a gas selling shop at Khairkhana locality of the capital here early Sunday morning. Initial reports reveal that a boy Ahmad, 15 was killed and ten people were injured in the shop while the shop has completely been destroyed in the explosion. The injured were rushed to the nearby hospital where the health condition of the majority of injured was stated to be precarious. Majority of the injured people are the poor children who sell gas balloons in the street and had come to the shop to get it in the shop. Ten refugee schools closed down in Baluchistan Syed Shah Saqim - Sep 1, 2008 - 17:33 QUETTA (PAN): Teachers of the Afghan refugee's schools in Loralai area of Baluchistan province of Pakistan have closed a number of schools, protesting low salaries. Teachers protest that their salaries must be raised so that they could meet their needs through it. Now they are paid 5000 rupees for two shifts teaching which they consider too meager an amount in the wake of galloping price hike. Last week these teachers in a protest meeting had warned to close down schools from September. 1 if there salaries were not raised. Abdullah Jan, an elder of the Ziar Kareez refugee camp urged the donor organization Save the Children to immediately announce a raise in the salaries of the teachers. He said that till yet ten refugee schools have been closed down in the camp and if the strike continued the precious time of the student would be wasted. Pajhwok Afghan News also tried to contact the officials of Save the Children but they declined to issue any comment on the incident. 37 Six minors killed, 18 wounded in Ghazni blast Shir Ahmad Haider - Sep 14, 2008 - 11:17 GHAZNI CITY (PAN): At least six minors were killed and one and half a dozen more sustained injuries when a newly planted bomb exploded southern Ghazni province. The blast in the afternoon on Sunday took place on a bridge at Senai village of Andar district. Abdul Rahim Disiwal district chief of Andar told Pajhwok Afghan News condition of seven of the wounded, taken to Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Hospital in Ghazni, was critical. He blamed enemies of the government for the heinous attack, he said, the blast occurred when a group of children gathered on the small bridge in the area. The six dead were between 5 to 15 years of age, he said. A local PRT official confirmed receiving the wounded. Senai village was 2.5 kilometers from Andar district on Sharan-Ghazni highway. Teenagers have several times fell prey to the bombing and attacks by militants and foreign troops across the country. Children worst sufferers in Afghan conflict Abdul Qadir Munsif and Habib Rahman Ibrahimi – pajhwok Sep 15, 2008 - 17:08 KABUL, (PAN): Forty per cent of the civilian victims of recent military operations and fighting in Afghanistan are children and women, a local child protection agency said on Sunday. The Afghan Children Protection Organization (ACPO) said in a statement that among 700 civilians killed in the past six months in conflict, 40 per cent were children and women. The organization said it was concerned about the increasing bad effects of the war taking civilian lives. The ACPO statement added that children were making most of the victims in the recent bombings in Nuristan, Nangarhar and Herat by foreign troops. Sixty out of over 90 people killed in air strike in Shindand district of Herat last month were children, said the statement. The casualties were caused mostly by clashes in residential areas and bombing of the civilian targets after the Taliban take shelter there or foreign troops got suspected of it, added the statement. The organization also condemned the Taliban for burning schools, threatening schoolchildren and their teachers and depriving them of education. ACPO asked the Taliban to reopen schools and let children continue their classes. More than 300 schools have been closed and as many burnt by unidentified armed men believed to be Taliban in the last three years mostly in southern provinces. Earlier in July, Radhika Coomaraswamy, special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, said while visiting Kabul that the conflict had killed, maimed and affected an increasing number of children in recent years, she said. She said Afghan children were in the worst conditions in the world. By/ajr School building blown up in Paktika Obaidullah Sarozawal - Sep 18, 2008 - 14:45 SHARANA (PAN): Unidentified gunmen blew up a newly constructed school building in Sar-rawza district of southeastern Paktika province, officials said Thursday. Dr Akram Khapulwak governor of Paktika province told Pajhwok Afghan News that assailants laid down two bombs in the school building and opened fire on the building right after the bang sound of the explosion leaving huge part of the building destroyed. Ghulam Rasul a resident of the district told this news agency that the school was inaugurated by the governor of the provinces few weeks back. The school was constructed by $140000 budget, the destruction left hundreds of students deprived of shelter for studying. None has so far claimed the responsibility for the arson attack on education school which is mostly blamed and claimed by the Taliban militants. Conference on children trafficking to be held on Oct, 11 Zarghona Salehi - Sep 29, 2008 - 16:40 KABUL (PAN): The first two day regional conference on law of human trafficking will be held in Kabul on 11 October by IOM. 38 A press release sent to Pajhwok Afghan News by IOM read that the conference is held to communicate the laws over human trafficking in Afghanistan, Iran Pakistan, Tajikistan and United Arab Emirate. The press release stated this conference will be a regional opportunity for the countries to share information over the condition of human trafficking in the countries and the problems they face to prevent trafficking. According to the press release the goal is to prepare a strategy to prevent the new way of slavery and provide regional cooperation to fight against this international crime. The press release added human trafficking is a crime which can severely hurt human life and this dangerous phenomenon has severely affected Afghanistan and neighboring countries. Many Afghans, particularly youth and young children are being trafficked to foreign countries particularly to Iran Acid attack on school girls in Kandahar Bashir Ahmad Nadem/Javed Hamim - Nov 12, 2008 - 09:34 KABUL/ KANDAHAR (PAN): Unidentified miscreants attacked 16 schoolgirls of Nazo Ana High School with acid in Mirwais Mina area of Kandahar city Wednesday morning. General Rahmatullah Raufi told a press conference on Wednesday afternoon that two persons have been arrested in connection with the incident. He added investigations have begun and other involved people will be arrested soon. The governor condemned the incident and said that they have taken the incident seriously and ordered to arrest the involved people. Dr, Sharifa, a doctor at Mirwais hospital told Pajhwok Afghan News six girls were referred to hospital who were burnt. In the incident two sisters Atifa, 17, a grade eight student and Jamila, 19, a grade 12 student were also among the casualties. Atifa told Pajhwok Afghan News: "we were going to school in the morning, two motorcyclists came to our way and stopped and threw acid on us" She said with the acid our veils, clothes were burnt, but the shopkeepers came and covered the girls with their blankets. Afghanistan government and education ministry strongly condemned the incident and considered it the action of the enemies of the country and education. A press release sent from presidential office said that this action was against the culture and tradition of Afghans. The press release added that the enemies can not stop the education of six million children with violence, because Afghans knows that education in Islam is worship. The education ministry in a press release also condemned the incident. The press release said the condition of three girls was not good and the ministry asked the officials of the hospital to pay serious attention for their health. Armed Taliban spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi told Pajhwok Afghan News that they were not involved in the incident. Four teenagers killed in Faryab blast Zabihullah Ihsas - Nov 12, 2008 - 18:48 MAIMANA (PAN): At least four teenagers who were grazing their animals on a hillside in northern Faryab province perished when a bomb in the area went off on their hoard in Qaisar district of the province, security officials said Wednesday. The victims between 13 to 16 years of age died on the spot, local security forces said. Col Muhammad Sadiq security chief of Faryab police headquarters told Pajhwok Afghan News the bomb was newly planted in the area, he opined the bomb exploded from where Faryab based provincial Reconstruction Teams and police pass by. He did not role out involvement of the enemies of the peace and stability behind the plot, he believed militants from Ghormach district of neighboring Badghis province infiltrated to Qaisar district of Faryab province for disruptive activities. Taliban fighters, who always claim and are blamed for such attacks by government authorities were yet to comment on the blast. Brig. Gen Khalilullah Andarabi police chief of the province confirmed the casualties and said in a similar attack three months back three children were killed here 39 School students kidnapped from Logar Shahpur Arab - Nov 19, 2008 - 19:29 PUL-E-ALAM (PAN): Unknown armed men kidnapped three students of two high schools students in Baraki Barak district of Logar province, on Wednesday. Deputy Director of Logar province, Mohammad Yasin Ahmadi told Pajhwok Afghan News that the students of two different high schools in the district were residents of Chalozai village. He added two of them were students of Ghazi Amanullah Khan High School and the third was student of Logar High School. According to him, they were students of class seven, eighth and ninth who were retuning to their homes after taking exam in their schools, when masked, armed motor cycle riders abducted them. A small Jerga of local people have been formed in order to find and free the students, he said. No body has yet accepted responsibility of the abduction. Taliban Spokesman in the locality, Mulla Momin Hakimi called it action of thieves, and said that they were not involved in the crime. Schools have been attacked and burned several times in Logar, but this is first case in which school students are directly targeted. School blown up in Khost Saboor Mangal - Nov 19, 2008 - 19:19 KHOST CITY (PAN): Unidentified people blew up building of a middle school in the southeastern Khost province late Tuesday night, an official said on Wednesday. Daulat Khan Qayomi, district chief of Ismailkhel district told Pajhwok Afghan News over 14 classrooms of the school building were destroyed after being blown up by four bombs. He said area people and tribal elders had promised them for maintaining security of the school building before its construction and tribal elders and police have asked local people about failure of maintaining the security. According to his information the area people had promised to reconstruct the building without foreign aid. Provincial education department spokesman Syed Musa Majroh informed the school had over 6000 students. The school building constructed by financial support of provincial reconstruction team (PRT) was yet to be formally handed over to education department, Majroh said. However, no one has immediately claimed responsibility for the incident. Violence against children on the rise: U.N. Pajhwok Report - Nov 24, 2008 - 15:47 KABUL (PAN): Violations of children's rights are increasing in Afghanistan with more attacks against schools, more children killed and more evidence of child sexual abuse, the United Nations said on Sunday. The report was conducted using a combination of data from agencies working across Afghanistan and anecdotal reports or allegations of violations against children. "The report really shows how difficult the situation is and to some degree it is worsening," Hilde F. Johnson, deputy executive director of the UNICEF agency, told media. "This goes for several of the violations in particular attacks against schools and health centers, killing and maiming and grave sexual violence and to some degree recruitment of children (to armed groups)," Johnson said. The report, produced by UNICEF for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon mentioned the case of a child, aged around 12, who was used as a suicide bomber by the Taliban on May 16, 2008. UNICEF also said Western military operations were killing more children, and pointed to an air strike in July in which 30 of the 47 civilians killed were children. The report contained documented cases of Afghan security forces recruiting children aged between 15 and 17, although Johnson said children were rarely abducted and forced into working as soldiers and most were driven to join up by poverty. "Where children are orphaned or children are in a situation where they don't have food or they are very poor and don't have much alternative, then it's very easy to be recruited," Johnson said, ahead of a meeting with Afghanistan's minister for the interior when she expected to discuss the report's findings. The Afghan government was involved in the preparations for the report and Johnson said cooperation was 40 good and pointed to the need to also address cultural perceptions of children in Afghanistan. By tradition in Afghanistan, children over the age of 15 are seen as adults, whereas under international law they are still children until the age of 18, she said. One other major concern for UNICEF is sexual abuse against children, particularly boys, a controversial and taboo subject in Afghanistan, where the tradition of "bacha bazi," which literally means child play, is an ageold practice of young boys being kept as sex slaves by wealthy and powerful men. Boy bomber: 'free me, I've got exams' Written by Quqnoos.com Thursday, 13 November 2008 15:29 Schoolboy error shouldn't stop attempted suicide bomber's timetable THIS morning, he was a committed jihadist. This afternoon, he wants to go back to school. Nematullah, 17, was arrested this morning on suspicion of planning a suicide bomb attack on the Company area of Kabul. The schoolboy, from Maidan Wardak, was encouraged to blow himself up by Mullah Qasim, a Taliban commnander, police said. Nematullah drove himself to the capital in a Toyota Town Ace packed with deadly explosives. But the plan went wrong almost immediately. Nematullah panicked when he saw a police checkpoint and tried to turn around. Unfortunately for him, he then crashed into another car. He fled the scene and hid. Police, who had by now found explosives in the crashed minibus, gave chase and captured the boy. “My school exams are next week – the government should release me,” Nematullah told Quqnoos.com. Quqnoos questioned his academic ambition, given that, had his plan succeeded, he would have been dead by lunchtime on Thursday. “As I’m alive, it would be nice to pass my exams,” he replied. AP, 24 novembre 2008 UN: AFGHAN CHILDREN BEING RECRUITED AS FIGHTERS by EDITH M. LEDERER UNITED NATIONS – Afghanistan's security forces and insurgent groups are both recruiting children to serve as fighters and the taliban also is using young people as suicide bombers, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday. He urged all factions to immediately stop exploiting children. In his first report to the Security Council on the Afghan war's impact on children, Ban said other problems include sexual abuse of children, especially boys, and a "worrisome increase" in the number of child victims caused by militant attacks on civilian targets. He also cited an "ever increasing number of children inadvertently killed during engagements by international and Afghan forces." He urged U.S., NATO and Afghan troops to implement rules of engagement that include special measures protecting children. Ban said monitoring abuses of children in Afghanistan has been difficult because of increasing violence and the difficulty of obtaining and checking victim and eyewitness accounts. He said much of the available data is not broken down by age and sex. "The report focuses on grave violations perpetrated against children in Afghanistan and identifies parties to the conflict, both state and non-state actors, who commit grave abuses against children," Ban said. "In particular, the report highlights the fact that children have been recruited and utilized (as fighters) by state and non-state armed groups ... ." He said children have been used as soldiers by all factions during 30 years of wars in Afghanistan. Even though the Afghan government demobilized 7,444 underage soldiers in 2003, there has not been any monitoring of children vulnerable to recruitment, Ban said. "Allegations of recruitment of children by armed groups have been received from all regions, particularly from the south, southeast and east" — areas with the most fighting, he said. A U.N. study of suicide attacks documented cases of children allegedly used as suicide bombers by the taliban, he said. "Most of these children were between 15 and 16 years of age and were tricked, promised money or forced to become suicide bombers." 41 On the government side, Ban said, there are reports of children seen serving in the Afghan National Auxiliary Police and there are documented cases of young people recruited by the Afghan National Police. Ban called on Afghan security forces to adopt procedures to verify the age of recruits "and take appropriate measures to improve the protection of children." "Grave abuses" of children aren't limited to the battlefield, Ban added. "Violence against children, specifically of a sexual nature, occurs particularly during times of instability," he said. "The practice of `bacha-baazi' (boy-play) consists of boys kept cloistered and used for sexual and harmful social entertainment by warlords and other armed group leaders." He called on the Afghan government to enact laws to punish sexual violence, implement programs to support the victims of such abuse and work with U.N. officials to study ways to quell "harmful practices, including that of bacha-baazi." Centre d'actualités de l'ONU, 21 novembre 2008 Ban appelle les taliban à cesser d'exploiter et d'enrôler des enfants 21 novembre 2008 – Le Secrétaire général de l'ONU, Ban Ki-moon, s'inquiète des graves violations des droits de l'enfant par les parties au conflit en Afghanistan, dans un rapport rendu public vendredi ["Rapport du Secrétaire général sur les enfants et les conflits armés en Afghanistan", S/2008/695 du 10 novembre 2008], et appelle les taliban et d'autres groupes armés antigouvernementaux à cesser d'exploiter et d'enrôler des enfants. Le rapport remis au Conseil de sécurité et qui porte sur la période allant du 1er juillet 2007 au 15 août 2008 signale que des enfants ont été enrôlés et exploités par des groupes armés étatiques et non étatiques et que des groupes armés non étatiques tels que les taliban continuent d'entraîner des enfants dont ils se servent notamment pour des attentats-suicides. Il lève aussi le voile sur la détention, par les autorités afghanes et par les forces militaires internationales, d'enfants accusés d'association avec des groupes armés, et ce, en violation du droit afghan et des pratiques optimales acceptées au plan international. Le rapport décrit également la situation préoccupante que créent les attaques menées par des groupes armés non étatiques contre des écoles et des villages et dont les enfants sont de plus en plus souvent victimes, et atteste que de plus en plus d'enfants sont tués par mégarde lors d'opérations menées par les forces internationales et afghanes. Dans ses recommandations, le Secrétaire général « engage tous les éléments antigouvernementaux parties au conflit à cesser immédiatement de se servir d'enfants, de les exploiter et de les enrôler. » « Je recommande également que les Forces nationales de sécurité afghanes mettent au point des procédures permettant de vérifier l'âge des candidats au recrutement, et de prendre les mesures appropriées pour améliorer la protection des enfants », ajoute-t-il. M. Ban encourage également le gouvernement afghan à redoubler d'efforts pour traduire en justice tous les auteurs des crimes commis contre des enfants et à ratifier la Convention no 182 de l'Organisation internationale du travail (OIT). « Je lance un appel aux autorités afghanes pour qu'elles adoptent des textes de lois en vue de criminaliser le recrutement d'enfants dans le cadre de conflits armés et pour qu'elles envisagent d'adopter les lois requises pour donner effet au Statut de Rome de la Cour pénale internationale », écrit-il. Le Secrétaire général engage aussi instamment les taliban et les autres éléments antigouvernementaux « à mettre immédiatement un terme à leurs attaques contre la population civile, en particulier contre les enfants, ainsi que contre des objectifs civils. » Il exhorte « les forces militaires internationales et les Forces nationales de sécurité afghanes à améliorer leurs instructions permanentes et leurs règles d'engagement et de comportement pour y inclure en particulier des dispositions expresses de protection des enfants. » Ban Ki-moon invite le gouvernement afghan à mettre en œuvre plus intégralement des lois et programmes visant à prévenir et à sanctionner la violence sexuelle ainsi qu'à aider les victimes, à surveiller les actes de violence sexuelle graves perpétrés à l'encontre de garçons comme de filles, et à se concerter avec son équipe en Afghanistan pour trouver le moyen de mettre un terme à des pratiques attentatoires telles que le « bacha baazi », avec l'appui des chefs religieux afghans et de la société civile. http://www.un.org/apps/newsFr/storyF.asp?NewsID D=17841&Cr=Afghanistan&Cr1=enfants 42 Girls school torched in Swat PAN Monitor - Dec 5, 2008 - 11:29 PESHAWAR (PAN): Unknown persons set ablaze a girls school in the restive Swat valley of Pakistan whereas land link between Kabal and Mingora has been suspended after Ayub Bridge destruction. According to sources, unidentified persons set on fire a girl's school in Khawaza Khel area. Meanwhile, land link between tehsil Kabal and Mangora suspended after destruction of Ayub Bridge in last nights suicide attack. Power supply to tehsil Kabal also remained suspended after the attack. School teacher shot dead in Helmand Zainullah Stanakzai - Dec 18, 2008 - 17:22 LASHKARGAH (PAN): Unknown motorcyclists killed a teacher in Greshk district of the restive southern Helmand province on Wednesday late afternoon. Haji Abdul Ahad Khan, district chief of Greshk, told Pajhwok Afghan News on Thursday that teacher Abdullah was teaching at Abu Al-Fatah High School in the district. He said armed motorcyclists shot him and that he died on the spot. The district chief blamed Taliban for the murder and said that Taliban wants Afghan children to remain illiterate. He added that investigations on the incident have begun. The Taliban have yet not claimed responsibility for the attack. A resident of Greshk Kala Khan told Pajhwok Afghan News that the teacher had no enmity with anyone. He also believed that the teacher was killed by Taliban. Dozens of schools are closed due to insecurity in Helmand province. 'UN report on Afghan children misleading' Lalit K Jha - Dec 20, 2008 - 13:15 UNITED NATIONS (PAN): The Afghan Ambassador to the UN, Zahir Tanin, Friday virtually blasted a top UN Envoy for submitting a report on the status of Afghan children, which do not represent the ground realities and is factually incorrect. Speaking at a meeting of the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, Amb Tanin said the information contained in the report of Secretary General on Children and Armed Conflict in Afghanistan is dubious for many reasons. "The report before us today fails to advance our goals. It distorts the situation in Afghanistan, it relies on information of questionable credibility, and it takes an unwarranted and accusatory tone towards the Government of Afghanistan," he said. The report was recently submitted by Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Special UN Envoy on Children and Armed Conflict, after her recent visit to Afghanistan. "We were disturbed by the apparent shift in focus of the report from the Taliban to the Government of Afghanistan," Tanin said addressing the meeting. His view point was endorsed by a number of members of the working group. "It was with great bewilderment that we found that this report has chosen instead to unconstructively target the Government of Afghanistan. Are we penalizing the Government of Afghanistan for its commitment and good will?" he asked. "It is imperative that this discussion be refocused immediately if we want this working group to deliver productive outcomes that will improve the lives of children in Afghanistan," Tanin said. The Afghan Ambassador said the report demonstrates a questionable understanding of the political and socioeconomic realities in Afghanistan and the region. It breaks with accepted UN analysis of the situation and thereby misidentifies both the causes and the solutions to the grave abuses of children's rights which are of substantial concern to us all. Secondly the conclusions described in this report seem to be based on sparse, largely anecdotal accounts from unknown, and thereby unverifiable, sources. And finally, the language and tone of the report suggest a shift in focus from the Taliban to the Government of Afghanistan which is wholly unjustified, Tanin charged. 43 Further, the report detracts from the seriousness of the threat. It is the Taliban and other terrorists groups that remain the main violator of human rights, including children's rights, in Afghanistan, he said. Questioning the credibility of the report, Tanin said it seems to be based on base many of its broad conclusions on one or two anecdotes, or less. In relying on anecdotal evidence, it fails to provide any sort of holistic or objective view of trends over the course of the year reported, and no comparison of the severity of various problems. Instead, it showcases a variety of individual examples chosen seemingly at random, he said. Also the sources used in the report are not identified, and it is unclear how far the accuracy of these sources was verified, Tanin observed. Further the report contains factual inaccuracies that have now been widely repeated in the media. Attentat dans l'est afghan: 16 morts dont 14 enfants (nouveau bilan) 28.12.08 | 16h09 Seize personnes, dont quatorze enfants, ont été tuées dimanche et 58 blessées dans un attentat suicide à la voiture piégée dans l'est de l'Afghanistan, selon un nouveau bilan fourni par la Force militaire internationale de l'Otan (Isaf). "Ce matin, un kamikaze au volant d'une voiture s'est fait exploser devant le quartier général du district de Mando Zayi, dans la province de Khost. L'explosion a tué 16 Afghans et blessé 58 autres. Parmi les personnes tuées, on compte 14 enfants et un soldat", annonce l'Isaf dans un communiqué. Un précédent bilan, fourni par les autorités locales, avait fait état de sept morts, dont quatre enfants, et une trentaine de blessés, dont également de nombreux enfants. L'attentat a eu lieu près d'un collège où ces enfants étaient venus voir les résultats de leurs examens. BBC, 28 décembre 2008 Children killed in afghan attack A suicide bomber has hit a government building in eastern Afghanistan, killing 16 people, 14 of them children, local police said. A doctor at a hospital in Khost said 58 people - many of them children - were hurt in the attack, close to a school. Earlier, two Canadian soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in Panjwayi district, a taleban stronghold in southern Kandahar province. An Afghan interpreter and a policeman working with them were also killed. "These soldiers died honourably, helping bring security to Afghanistan," said a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) in a statement. taleban rebels have stepped up attacks on Afghan and foreign troops this year. The deaths took to 106 the number of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan since their mission began in 2002. In Khost province, the attacker detonated an explosives-laden car he was driving when police opened fire to prevent him from reaching the government building where officials were meeting. Police said tribal elders and local leaders were holding talks with the district governor about security and planning for next year's presidential elections. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7801777.stm "Los Angeles Times" (Etats-Unis), 29 décembre 2008 taliban bomber kills 14 children in attack One of the more horrifying aspects of the struggles in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere has been the slaughter of school children and the conversion of their schools into instruments of warfare. 44 In the early days of the U.S.-led the invasion of Iraq, troops found schools where Saddam Hussein had stockpiled weaponry in classrooms, including closets full of suicide vests. In northwest Pakistan, as The Times' Laura King reports this morning, several children were among those killed when a suicide-car bomber sought to disrupt voting. A school was being used as a polling place and children had accompanied their parents. And in Afghanistan, a suicide-bomber driving an SUV apparently targeted children walking near their school in the eastern province of Khowst. Fourteen children were killed, along with an Afghan soldier, and 58 Afghans were injured, officials said. A surveillance video shows that the bomber could have waited for the children to walk past but decided instead to detonate his explosives, U.S. officials said. A taliban spokesman was quoted calling the bomber a martyr. "There was no martyr here," said U.S. Army Col. Jerry O'Hara. "A real martyr would have taken a bullet to save those children." http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyon nd/2008/12/one-of-the-more.html Unknown gunmen blow up school building in Farah Ahmad Qureshi - Dec 22, 2008 - 16:22 ZARANJ (PAN): Unidentified gunmen have blown up a school building, destroying three classrooms in the southwestern Farah province, an official said on Monday. The school building was blown up late Sunday night in Chin Village of Pusht-i-Rood district of the province, said education director of the province. Atiqullah informed Pajhwok Afghan News more than 2000 students were studying in the school. Rohul Amen governor of the lawless province bordering Iran blaming the Taliban fighters for torching the school building condemned the incident. Although officials blame militants for torching schools, however, Taliban rejected all the claims. Large numbers of school buildings have been torched during the outgoing year, but no survey in this regard has been taken so far in some provinces of the country including northern Faryab province. Blast leaves four minors dead, six more injured Said Jamal Asifkhel - Dec 26, 2008 - 18:34 GARDIZ (PAN): At least four minors were killed and six more received injuries when an old mortar shell the children were playing with went off in southeastern Paktia province, security officials said Friday. Ghulam Dastagir security chief of the police headquarters in an interview confirmed the explosion in Khetaba area of the province and casualties caused. Muhammad Nadir Nadiri superintendent of the Paktia Public Hospital said they received four dead and six wounded children, he worried, two of the wounded in critical condition were sent to Kabul for medical treatment. The tragic blast in the province occurred when mine clearance organizations serve in the country for years and in Paktia since four years. Shir Agha Ahmadzai in charge of a mine clearance organization in southeastern Zone in an interview with PAN unexploded ordinance had been collected from Gardiz, he believed the shell could be recent because the area was volatile. They could not make it to send their staffers to the area because of the security problems. 45 2009 Daily Times (Pakistan), 17 janvier 2009 Jihadi groups recruiting youths for terrorist activities KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) [read below] Investigation Committee (IC) believes that banned religious organizations are sending children to Waziristan, FATA, and Afghanistan to brainwash and train them for Jihad. According to a press release issued on Friday by MQM’s London based secretariat, the IC claimed that various banned organizations were persuading minors and youngsters for Jihad and after keeping them at various offices, they were sending them to Waziristan for training. A report by the IC stated that young boys were being trained for bombings, suicide attacks and in the use of modern weaponry in training institutions located in the tribal areas. The IC report claimed that most of the suicide bombers in the last few months were found to be young boys. According to report the centers of these Jihadi organizations were, until a few months ago, concentrated in Pakhtoon dominated areas but had now expanded to other localities as well. The report alleged that most of the young boys were being sent to Jihadi training camps without their parents’ consent. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\01\17\story_17-1-2009_pg7_24 Teenager abducted in Herat Ahmad Qurishi - Jan 19, 2009 - 19:16 HERAT CITY (PAN): Unidentified gunmen kidnapped a teenage son of a money changer in western Herat province. Colonel Abdul Raof Ahmadi, spokesman for police in western zone told Pajhwok Afghan News 12-years old Nazir Ahmad, was snatched on Sunday night by three armed men from seven district of Herat city. Nazir Ahmad was the son of Jalil Ahmad a money changer in Herat city and the fate of the young captive was yet to be ascertained, he added the cause behind the abduction was unclear however such kidnapping cases are mainly perpetrated for monetary purposes. A police source in Herat said police had launched an investigation to trace the abductors and ensure safe release of the youngster. During a period of last one year 50 cases of abductions including foreigners and traders were reported from Herat province. The abduction cases badly affected the economic market in the province. Taliban should stop targeting and using children:UN Lalit K Jha - Jan 20, 2009 - 19:27 Washington, January 20, 2009 (PAN): A top UN rights official said Monday that the Taliban and other armed groups should stop targeting and using children. In a statement, Radhika Coomaraswamy, UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, strongly condemns the increasing number of attacks claimed by Taliban insurgents and other armed groups that utilize and target children. She has been particularly appalled by three recent incidents: in January five schools in North West Pakistan were blown up after an edict in December ordering all private schools to close; on December 28, a suicide car bomb killed school children in Mandozai District of southeastern Khost province; on December 14, a 13year-old boy was used as a suicide bomber against British troops operating in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, killing himself and three soldiers, the UN statement said. Referring to the Secretary-General's recent report on Children and Armed Conflict in Afghanistan issued in November 2008, she said the report confirms that the Taliban continue to train and use children as suicide bombers as well as indiscriminately target children in the conflict areas of Afghanistan. 46 Expressing grave concern about the increase in the number of child victims of attacks against schools by Taliban insurgents who deny children the right to education, she said the throwing of acid to prevent girl children and female teachers from going to school is deplorable. The Special Representative strongly urged the Taliban and other armed groups to immediately stop using children and cease attacks against civilians, especially children. "Children must be protected and not targeted," Coomaraswamy concluded. Blast kills three boys in Panjshir Farid Tanha - Feb 7, 2009 - 20:05 PARAKH (PAN): Three boys were killed and as many wounded as an unexploded missile shell; they were playing with, suddenly detonated in the central Panjshir province, an official informed on Saturday. Gulabuddin, administrative head of Shotul district informed Pajhwok Afghan News the incident happened in Mara area of the district late Friday. Two small girls were among the injured, the district chief added. He explained all the injured were soon after rushed to Panjshir Emergency Hospital for treatment. Health conditions of the two girls and a boy injured in the blast were stable, said Muhammad Akbar Jan, a doctor at the Hospital. The boys brought the shell in front of the house after they found it in a hillside, Pir Muhammad, the father of a victim said. All the unexploded shells and other ammunitions were remains of the last Soviet war in the area, he continued. This was the first incident of its kind in the district, said the district chief Gulabuddin. Child dies as militants attack forces in Uruzgan Pajhwok Report - Feb 11, 2009 - 17:18 KABUL (PAN): A child was killed as militants attacked a convoy of the Afghan National Police and Coalition Forces in Shaheed Hasas district of Uruzgan province on Tuesday, a statement issued here said on Wednesday. "The convoy on a reconnaissance patrol was approaching a village when came under attack by militants from multiple locations using small arms, rocket-propelled grenades, and heavy weapons fire," the coalition said in a statement. The patrol continued to receive effective fire from the militants after successfully maneuvering away from the village and responded with small-arms fire, it added. "A child with a fatal wound was brought to a nearby Coalition Forces forward operating base as the engagement was occurring and died before a medical evacuation could be made," the statement said. However, it added that the cause of the injury was unknown and currently under investigation. We are currently conducting an investigation to determine what happened, the statement said, quoting Col. Greg Julian, US Forces-Afghanistan spokesperson, as saying. Unlike the insurgents, ANP and Coalition forces make every effort to prevent civilian casualties by attempting to move the fight away from villages and civilian centers," the statement claimed. No additional ANP, Coalition Forces or civilian casualties have been reported during the exchange of fire. Kunduz police rescue four youths, arrest kidnappers Abdul Matin Sarfaraz - Feb 16, 2009 - 11:03 KUNDUZ CITY (PAN): Police in northern Kunduz province captured two kidnappers and recovered four youths from their clutches during a raid on Monday. Provincial police chief Brig. Gen. Abdul Razaq Ayubi told a press conference that police also arrested three armed robbers in a separate raid. Ayubi said the two kidnappers were captured in Kotal-i-Airang area of Char Dara district. He added that one kidnapper was identified as Syed Ibrahim, alias Mastan, who had kidnapped four persons from Kunduz, Badakhshan and Samangan provinces and forcibly joined them in his group. The police official said that Mastan threatened the kidnapped persons to join his group otherwise they would be killed. The four captives will be sent back to their homes as soon as possible, he said and added one pistol, one Kalashnikov and one microscope were recovered from the kidnappers. 47 Ayubi alleged that Mustan had links with a Taliban commander Qari Ajib Gul who was killed in the same district about two weeks ago. "Mastan has killed four civilians and sexually abused a woman and a girl this year," he added. Mastan along with his fellow were paraded before journalists. Answering a question, Mastan confessed to killing his four foes, but rebuffed the claim of sexually abusing the woman and girl. The police chief also informed about the arrest of three armed robbers in Sae Darak area on the outskirts of the provincial capital. He added two Kalashnikovs were recovered from the robbers who wanted to break into a house. He said the intelligence operatives have also recovered seven Kalashnikovs, two rockets with 26 shells, two pistols and large number of bullets of Kalashnikovs in different parts of the province; but no one was arrested in this connection. Blast kills two children in Kandahar Pajhwok Report - Feb 24, 2009 - 17:31 KABUL (PAN): Two children were killed and a similar number were wounded when unexploded ordnance they were handling detonated in a village near southern city of Kandahar, residents said Monday. A statement issued by ISAF press office in Kabul said on Tuesday that it was alleged that the unexploded ordnance was left behind by ISAF soldiers who were conducting a practice range exercise in the area approximately 15 km west of Kandahar City, the day prior. However, it said the nature of the munition involved has yet to be determined. The incident is currently under investigation, the statement said. Kabul police recover kidnapped teenager Khaja Baser Ahmad - Mar 3, 2009 - 18:08 KABUL (PAN): Police in Kabul recovered a teenage boy from his kidnappers and arrested 11 people on suspicion of abducting the boy, a senior police official said Tuesday. Kabul police Chief Lt. Gen. Abdul Rahman Rahman told Pajhwok Afghan News that some unidentified gunmen kidnapped Shoaib, a student of class sixth from outside his home. "Our operatives safely freed the boy from his kidnappers within 20 hours of his abduction in cooperation with local people in Paghman district," he said. He said the boy was handed over to his family. Police also arrested 11 suspects on the charges of abducting Shoaib during a raid at approximately 11:00am Monday in the same area. He said the boy was kidnapped for ransom, adding that the arrested people were under interrogations. Pakistan bans admission to Afghans in schools, colleges Janullah Hashimzada - Mar 8, 2009 - 16:19 PESHAWAR (PAN): Government of Pakistan has banned allowing admissions to Afghan students in the country's public and private schools and colleges, as well their entry into institutes. North West Frontier Province's education minister Sardar Hussain Babak told Pajhwok Afghan News that the federal government had taken this decision and they had been informed about it. When asked that why such a decision was taken, Babak said the question may be asked from the federal government. In Peshawar, an official in Afghan consulate, responsible for Afghan refugees' affairs, Jalili also confirmed the Pakistani government's decision and said; "From today, no Afghan is allowed admission into local schools and colleges". "Though, we are not officially informed about the decision, but we come to know through other sources," Jalili said. However, he said the decision was only confined to schools and colleges while higher educational institutes were exonerated from it. The official expressed his displeasure over the decision, and said it would lead to deprive thousands of Afghan children from acquiring education. 48 A spokeswoman for the UNHCR in NWFP Rabia Ali told this agency that the UN agency will take up the issue with the Pakistani government. The decision comes at a time when admissions into private and public schools and colleges are opened. An Afghan student Zahidullah told this agency he was not allowed admission into a college. Zahidullah, who was visibly upset with the situation said; "There are clashes in Afghanistan, where we can not acquire education and this decision will shatter our dreams for getting our education completed," he said. He demanded of the Afghan government to raise the issue with Pakistani government so that their frustration could be removed. 80% kids in Ghor condemned to child labor: AIHRC Muhammad Hassan Hakimi - Mar 12, 2009 - 20:03 CHEGHCHERAN (PAN): Expressing its deep concern, Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) has said that 80 percent of children in western Ghor province have been forced into labor due to poverty. Marzai Rahimi, head of child development section of the AIHRC in Ghor told Pajhwok Afghan News that a survey conducted in the province revealed that 80 percent of the children were involved into labor in the areas of agriculture and husbandry. Rahimi cited economic problems and lack of awareness among the people major reasons behind the scourge. About the bad impacts of labor work on the children, she said it presses the mentality of the children and physical pressure on a child marginalizes him from society. "The children who are forced into labor are aged between 7 years to 16 years," she said. Rahimi said that sixty percent of girls were forced into marriages before reaching the age of adultness. "When these girls go to the houses of their husbands, they forced them into labor," she claimed. She said that the AIHRC had opened its branch in Ghor province a year back and exact figures of child labors in the province were not yet in hand. The human rights official described the child labor a stigma in the society and stressed the need for improving the situation and provision of education opportunities to the children. Muhammad Sarwar, 12, a resident of Quts village is one of the children forced into child labor. Sarwar told this agency that he had lost his father and had four young brothers and one sister. Due to economic problems, he said he was unable to get admission into a school and working at farms with his nine-year-old brother and mother. "It is my desire to go to school, but the poverty is not allowing me to do so. Therefore, I use to work with my family at fields" Sarwar said. Head of provincial education department, Muhammad Naeem Frogh said that the dropout of students from high schools was 25 percent. He said the boys after abandoning their studies go to work as laborers. Maulavi Ramazan Qasimi, head of social and labor affairs department in Ghor province said that 80 percent population of the Ghor province was attached with farming and husbandry. He also termed economic problems the major cause of child labor and said the issue could not be resolved until the economic situation of the people was not improved. "Our department does not have enough budget to tackle the problem and there are no job opportunities for children," Qasimi said. Suspected militants blow up two schools in Khost Saboor mangal - Mar 19, 2009 - 14:43 KHOST CITY (PAN): Suspected militants last night blew up two schools with powerful explosives in Nadir Shahkot district of southeastern Khost province, education officials said Thursday. Provincial education director Mosa Majroh told Pajhwok Afghan News on Thursday that some unidentified miscreants last night entered the schools and detonated powerful explosives inside the schools' buildings, destroying the buildings badly. More than 600 students of both the gender have been studying in these schools, Majroh said. He added the schools were built at a cost of $160000 during the last fiscal year. Nearly a week back, a school in the same province was destroyed by unknown people. 49 Meanwhile, US-led coalition forces in a statement said Wednesday they captured nearly 16 Taliban suspects in Tannai district of the province. Separately, in Alisher district, border police came under attack by unidentified gunmen, however police suffered no casualty in the attack, a border police commander Limar Gul Mangal said. Taliban have issued no statement thus far about the attacks. SC condemns attack on civilians, staffing child soldiers Pajhwok Correspondent - Mar 24, 2009 - 11:56 WASHINGTON (PAN): The UN Security Council Monday condemned the international forces and the Taliban for attack on civilians in Afghanistan and slammed the terrorists groups for recruiting child soldiers. A resolution in this regard was passed unanimously by the 15-membered Security Council at its meeting Monday. The resolution also extended the misison of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan by another year. The resolution strongly condemned in the strongest terms all attacks, including Improvised Explosive Device attacks, suicide attacks and abductions, targeting civilians and Afghan and international forces and their deleterious effect on the stabilization, reconstruction and development efforts in Afghanistan. It also condemned the use by the Taliban and other extremist groups of civilians as human shields. Expressing strong concern about the recruitment and use of children by Taliban forces in Afghanistan as well as the killing and maiming of children as a result of the conflict, the Security Council reiterated its strong condemnation of the recruitment and use of child soldiers in violation of applicable international law and all other violations and abuses committed against children in situations of armed conflict, in particular attacks against schools. It called for those responsible to be brought to justice, stressed the importance of implementing Security Council resolution 1612 (2005), in this context, and requests the Secretary-General to strengthen the child protection component of UNAMA, in particular through the appointment of child protection advisers. Underscoring the importance of the presidential and provincial council elections to Afghanistans democratic development, the Council called for all efforts to ensure the credibility, safety and security of the ballot. It recognized UNAMAs key role in supporting the electoral process, and called on the Afghan Government and international organizations to fully implement the Afghanistan Compact and meet its benchmarks and timelines for progress in security, governance, the rule of law and human rights, socio-economic issues and counter-narcotics. However, following the adoption of the resolution, the representative of Costa Rica expressed concern that the text of the resolution had been weakened. Contrary to former resolutions on Afghanistan, language expressing concern over the increase in civilian casualties had not been incorporated. While realizing that insurgents bore the prime responsibility for most civilian casualties, Costa Rica called on all parties to avoid inflicting them. The resolution expressed its concern about the security situation in Afghanistan, in particular the increased violent and terrorist activities by the Taliban, Al-Qaida, illegally armed groups, criminals and those involved in the narcotics trade, and the increasingly strong links between terrorism activities and illicit drugs. All this results in threats to the local population, including children, national security forces and international military and civilian personnel, it said. School destroyed as Taliban attack district in Laghman Najibur Rahman Inqalabi - Mar 26, 2009 - 20:11 MEHTERLAM (PAN): Suspected Taliban militants fired several rockets into Qarghae district of eastern Laghman province, destroying a school building and in ensuing gun-battle a police man was injured, officials said Thursday. Qarghae district chief, Haji Saleh Mohammad, told Pajhwok Afghan News the Taliban last night fired at least eight rockets from Dehmazang heights into the district. "A rocket hit a girl school after that the school's building caught fire," Mohammad said. He said the police reached the spot soon after the incident and extinguished the fire. "Hundreds of books and religious scripts were saved from burning," he claimed. After rockets attack, the militants attacked at police with small arms fire, injuring a police man, the district chief said. 50 He claimed the attack was repulsed and the Taliban also suffered casualties, but would no say how many militants were killed. An eyewitness said that fighting between the police and militants lasted for 20 minutes and Taliban have now fled the area. Taliban have so far issued no statement about the incident. A month ago, Qarghae district police colonel Abdul Aziz along with another policeman were killed in a Taliban ambush. Série d'attaques en Afghanistan, au moins 27 morts Reuters 04.05.09 | 13h50 Vingt-sept personnes au moins (bien 27), dont une majorité de civils, ont été tuées lundi dans une série d'attaques menées en Afghanistan, a-t-on appris auprès des autorités. Dans la province méridionale de Zabul, l'explosion d'une bombe a tué douze civils afghans. Quatre femmes et deux enfants figurent au nombre des victimes. L'engin, dissimulé en bordure d'une route a explosé au passage de leur tracteur. Six employés afghans d'une société de sécurité privée et deux civils ont été tués peu de temps après dans une embuscade tendue par des insurgés taliban dans un autre district de cette province. Sept personnes ont par ailleurs péri dans un attentat suicide contre un maire de la province de Laghman (est). Le kamikaze était un adolescent de 14 ans. Face au regain d'activités de l'insurrection, les Etats-Unis envisagent de doubler leur présence militaire en Afghanistan cette année. Le contingent américain compte actuellement 32.000 soldats, auxquels s'ajoutent 30.000 soldats de pays alliés engagés sous la bannière de la Force internationale d'assistance à la sécurité (Fias) sous commandement de l'Otan. Nouvelle attaque au gaz dans une école pour filles Reuters 11.05.09 | 13h10 Quarante-six adolescentes afghanes ont été hospitalisées à la suite d'une attaque au gaz dans une école pour filles de Charikar, dans le nord du pays, la seconde de ce genre en un mois, a déclaré un médecin lundi. Le directeur du collège a fait évacuer précipitamment l'établissement après que les collégiennes eurent senti une odeur inhabituelle et ressenti des nausées et des vertiges, a expliqué à Reuters une victime de 17 ans allongée sur un lit d'hôpital. Parmi les 46 jeunes filles hospitalisées, certaines étaient sous oxygène, mais le pronostic vital n'était engagé pour aucune d'entre elles. La nature du gaz utilisé n'était pas connue. Le docteur Anwar Karimi a déclaré que les symptômes étaient identiques à ceux des jeunes filles hospitalisées après une attaque au gaz survenue fin avril dans une autre école pour filles de Charikar, une ville réputée calme. Des échantillons de sang avaient alors été envoyés pour analyse sur la base militaire américaine de Bagram mais les résultats ne sont pas encore connus. Les attaques visant des écoles pour filles se sont multipliées depuis l'année dernière, particulièrement dans le sud et l'est du pays. Most of 140 Afghan dead in US airstrikes under 18 Published: May 14, 2009 HERAT (AFP) - An Afghan government investigation has found that 95 out of 140 civilians killed in US airstrikes a week ago were under 18 years old, an official said Wednesday. The government has paid compensation to the families of the 140 people said to have been killed in the western Afghan province of Farah as well as 25 wounded, provincial government spokesman Farid Ahmad Ayobi told AFP. 51 The investigation team, appointed by President Hamid Karzai, announced its toll of 140 to provincial authorities on Monday but did not say how many were adults and children. Other officials had claimed more than 90 were under 18. “The presidential delegation announced that 140 civilians were killed, 25 civilians were wounded and 15 houses were destroyed,” Ayobi told AFP. “There were 95 children below the age of 18 who were killed and 65 of the total killed were female,” he said. Members of the team could not be reached immediately for confirmation. The toll makes it the deadliest incident for civilians in air strikes since the 2001 US-led invasion toppled the Taliban regime paving the way for the deployment of thousands of foreign troops to fight insurgents. But after an investigation with Afghan security forces, the US military has accepted only that “a number” of civilians were killed. It was unclear how. http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/International/14-May2009/Most-of-140-Afghan-dead-in-US-airstrikes-under-18 Taliban militants burn down school in S Afghanistan Anti-government militants in the wee hours of Thursday set fire on a school in outskirts of former Taliban strong hold Kandahar province of southern Afghanistan, an official said. "Armed militants set fire on a school which was used by some 600 boys and girls at around 2:00 a.m. (2130 GMT) in outside of Kandahar city," director of provincial education department Najebullah Ahmadi told Xinhua. Ahmadi added that local people rushed to the school and stopped the fire hours later . Dozens of schools have been attacked and destroyed by insurgents over the past couple of years in the war- plagued country where Taliban militants during their six- year regime had banned girls schools and confined women to their houses. Source: Xinhua 15:05, May 28, 2009 http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/6667170.html Recruiter of child suicide bombers nabbed in Afghanistan Afghanistan News.Net Sunday 5th July, 2009 (IANS) A terrorist who allegedly recruited Afghan children to serve as suicide bombers has been taken into custody, US officials said Sunday. The arrest was made south of the Afghan capital of Kabul. A second rebel sympathiser was taken into custody Saturday in Logar province. The two belonged to the Hakkani Network, considered to be 'one of the deadliest Taliban organisations' and had been active in the troubled Afghan area along the Pakistani border. US-led coalition troops and Afghan soldiers participated in the mission. On Saturday, two soldiers of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were killed by militants in southern Afghanistan, military officials reported. The soldiers' nationalities were not known. US and Afghan troops began a major anti-Taliban offensive in Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand Thursday, with support from British troops. http://www.afghanistannews.net/story/515448 52 Four of 13 abducted children rescued in east Abdul Moeed Hashimi - Nov 1, 2009 - 18:14 JALALABAD (PAN): Four of the 13 abducted children have been rescued from their adductors in eastern Nangarhar province, an official said Sunday. Unknown gunmen kidnapped 13 children from Haska Mina district a week back and police rescued four of them during a search operation in Morgai forests. A spokesman for the provincial governor Ahmad Zia Abdul Zai told Pajhwok Afghan News efforts were underway to ensure the release of the remaining kids. Zai said the location of the other abducted children could be found, but the families claimed their children had been kidnapped by the people of a border village. The gubernatorial spokesman said the residents of Haska Mina had set Sunday evening a deadline to the kidnappers for release of the children. Haska Mina district chief Haji Hamisha Gul said the four released children were handed over to their parents. Gul said due to heavy snow on the forest region, the rescuers were facing problems and the border of Durand Line was covered with snow. Haji Shah Pur, deputy head of development council, said a tribe called Hassankhel in Aghaz and Kas area where they suspect the children might be kept in captivity. "The families have accused the said tribe of abducting their children with support from Taliban militants to the other side of the border where Afridi tribe resides," he said. Pur said they had given Sunday evening a deadline to the tribe. "In case, the tribesmen did not comply with the deadline, then the district residents will take a decision on the issue," he added. Abducted boys rescued, gang busted in Kandahar Bashir Ahmad Nadem - Nov 8, 2009 - 18:14 KANDAHAR CITY (PAN): Police busted a kidnapping gang in this southern city ofKandahar and rescued two children from the kidnappers' captivity. Police Chief Brigadier General Sardar Mohammad Zazi told Pajhwok Afghan News on Sunday the abductors were arrested in the jurisdiction of 9th police station during a raid on a house where the kidnap victims were kept. He said the five abductors had kidnapped two minor boys identified as Hamidullah and Ihsaanullah four days back and kept them locked in the house situated in the family locality. He said the kidnappers had sought $100, 000 for the release of the children. Zazi said the parents did not file a case in the police station but the police successfully recovered the children. The kids who were shackled showed to media men. One of the kids said:" The kidnappers kept us in a hovel and gave us no food." The parents of the rescued kids avoided to comment. 10 children escape captors Abdul Moeed Hashimi - Nov 16, 2009 - 17:05 JALALABAD (PAN): Ten of more than a dozen children, abducted from the Haska Mina district of eastern Nangarhar province, escaped their captors and returned home on Monday. Three of the 13 children, kidnapped by unidentified armed men three weeks back, had returned home a fortnight ago. Haji Hamisha Gul, Haska Mina district chief, told Pajhwok Afghan News the 10 children were reunited with their families today. He added the children -- aged between eight and 13 -- were kept in Dogar area of theTirah Valley in Pakistan's lawless tribal region of Khyber Agency, bordering the eastern province. The district chief revealed the kidnap victims had the opportunity to flee as the Pakistan Air Force bombarded the Dogar area in Khyber Agency. Hamisha Gul explained the Pakistan Taliban had denied involvement in the abduction episode. Sawab Khan, whose son and nephew were among the abductees, said: "The children were abducted by unidentified gunmen." He alleged the victims were beaten and subjected to starvation. Sawab Khan insisted the armed men handed the children to the Pakistan Taliban, who asked them whether their family members worked for Afghan security forces. Nangarhar governor spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai said the children managed to escape and there had been no deal for there release. mnm/mud 53 Afghanistan: un enfant meurt dans l'explosion de la bombe qu'il posait AFP 21.11.09 | 11h28 Un enfant de 13 ans est mort vendredi dans l'explosion de la bombe qu'il était en train de dissimuler, dans le sud de l'Afghanistan, a annoncé samedi le ministère de l'Intérieur, qui a dénoncé un "acte barbare des terroristes". "Un enfant de 13 ans avait reçu l'ordre des terroristes de dissimuler une bombe sous un pont dans le district de Zahri de la province de Kandahar et la bombe a explosé prématurément vendredi, tuant l'enfant", a indiqué le ministère dans un communiqué. "Les terroristes mentent aux enfants et les utilisent pour atteindre leurs néfastes objectifs, en violation des valeurs islamiques et des droits de l'homme. Le ministère de l'Intérieur condamne fortement cet acte barbare des terroristes", a-t-il ajouté. La province de Kandahar est le berceau des talibans et l'un de leurs bastions. L'Afghanistan est en proie à l'insurrection meurtrière des talibans, en dépit de la présence de plus de 100.000 soldats étrangers, dont environ 68.000 Américains. L'année 2009 se révèle déjà la plus meurtrière depuis la chute du régime taliban en 2001, aussi bien en ce qui concerne les victimes civiles que pour les forces de sécurité afghanes et internationales. West air raid kills Afghan school children 29/12/ 09 Western attack killed ten civilians, mostly school children in eastern Afghanistan, villagers said. Elders of the village have told us that 10 people have been killed in this airstrike, eight of them school students," Kunar governor Sayed Fazlullah Wahedi said. Karzai condemned the killings, which took place in Kunar province on the border with Pakistan on Saturday, according to President Hamid Karzai's office on Monday. The West-installed president promised a "probe" into the killing. "President Karzai strongly condemns the operation which caused civilian deaths and has appointed a delegation to investigate the incident," it said. But the death toll is feared to rise because investigations were ongoing. Politicians representing Kunar walked out of an important parliamentary session debating appointments to Karzai's new cabinet to protest the civilian casualties, television showed. NATO-led forces in Afghanistan said they would "look into the report" but declined immediate comment. NATO and US-West coalition forces, which number more than 110,000, occupies the country for years. http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=51885 54