Kabul attacks, 10,000 peace balloons

KABUL: After a day of explosions and gunfire, residents of Kabul woke up yesterday morning to be greeted by a public art project in which volunteers handed out 10,000 neon-pink “peace” balloons. Organized by Yazmany Arboleda, a 31-year-old conceptual artist from the United States, the project was an unusual attempt to bring a dose of creativity and fun to a city wrecked by decades of war.
The timing of the event, which had been kept secret, came just hours after Taleban militants launched a major suicide and gun attack on a compound of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in central Kabul. One police officer was killed and five militants were shot dead in several hours of violence as security forces hunted down the attackers, with prolonged bursts of gunfire and grenade blasts heard across the Afghan capital. “I did think of calling it off last night but all the volunteers insisted it continued,” Arboleda said.
Yesterday morning — the start of the Afghan working week — more than 100 young Kabul artist and students distributed the bright pink balloons to workers, shoppers and families living in the dusty capital.