 |
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The
students are complaining about living conditions in the student
dormitories
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With
additional reporting by Muhammad Atta’iy, IOL Kabul correspondent
KABUL,
November 12 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Seven Afghani students
were killed, and around 40 injured when police opened fire Tuesday,
November 12, on several thousand students rioting in the Afghan capital
against the police handling of an earlier riot in which at least one
student was killed.
Crowds
shouting “death to the student killers”, and anti-government slogans
were advancing on riot police armed with batons when the police turned
water cannons on them, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
The
students retaliated with stones and police opened fire, initially in the
air. Some were seen shooting into the student crowd. It was not
immediately clear if there were any fresh casualties.
One
student who was injured by a bullet told IslamOnline “The
demonstration was supposed to be peaceful. We asked permission from the
government to march in a specific direction but it prevented us and
security forces started beating us and opening fire on us, which led to
the killing of several students and the injuring of scores.”
He
added that “We have specific demands that we wanted to deliver to the
government. We are complaining about the poor living conditions in the
student dormitories, and we have already complained about this to the
president.”
The
Afghani Interior Minister, Taj Mohammad Wardak said that fights had
erupted between the students and the security forces, and that he had
ordered an investigation into the causes of the demonstration and the
living conditions of students.
He
added that “It was a mistake to organize a demonstration at night.
This has never been done before in the history of Kabul.”
According
to BBC news online, eyewitnesses near Kabul University say gunshots
could still be heard, indicating the situation was not brought under
control Tuesday.
“All
we’re trying to do is contain them to the university right now, we
can’t stop it,” intelligence chief, Abdul-Karim said.
Earlier
Tuesday, the students had taken to the streets in protest at police
handling of a demonstration late Monday, November 11, against poor
conditions at Afghanistan's main university.
Wardak
confirmed that at least one student died when police and soldiers were
called in to break up the rock-throwing crowd, said AFP.
Officials
said another seven were injured. Two military personnel were also
injured.
“We
asked them a logical question why they did not improve conditions. They
answered us with bullets,” one student told AFP.
On
Monday, November 11, a protest against poor conditions at
Afghanistan’s main university turned violent as police were called in
to break up a crowd of stone-throwing students.
Ministry
of Interior spokesman Paktia Wal said the students were voicing anger at
conditions in dormitories on the campus of Kabul's university, which
they say are hampering their studies.
But
the spokesman, who had just returned from the campus with Wardak, denied
reports that police fired on the crowd, killing several students.
Wal
said the students were voicing anger at conditions in dormitories on the
campus of Kabul’s university, which they say are hampering their
studies.
“The
students have had some problems, they have no electricity and nothing to
keep them warm, that’s why they had this demonstration.
“There
was a demonstration, I just came from the university with the Minister
of Interior. I do not think anybody was killed or injured by police; as
far as I know, there was no firing by police," he said.
“The
students have had some problems, they have no electricity and nothing to
keep them warm, that’s why they had this demonstration.”
This
week, Afghanistan’s Education Ministry ordered that medical students
would shortly have to sit end-of-year exams, despite appeals to delay
the tests because of recent bad weather.
Some
3,000 students, mostly from the country’s poor outlying provinces,
have protested that without electricity they are unable to study at
night or keep warm in the large, poorly-insulated university
dormitories.
