KABUL, 25 June 2004 — Afghan Interior Minister Ali Ahmed Jalali yesterday said the murder of 11 Chinese construction workers in northern Kunduz province early this month was probably not “terrorism” but the result of a local feud. “It seems it was not the work of the terrorists,” Jalali said yesterday.
“There are other reasons like some rivalries, maybe it is the reason behind the incident.” No one has claimed responsibility for the June 10 attack and Taleban, who have been blamed for similar incidents in the past, have denied any involvement in the murders of the Chinese road construction workers.
The workers, many of whom had only arrived the previous day, were shot as they slept in tents near a road just south of Kunduz city about 250 kilometers (150 miles) north of Kabul. Afghan police have detained 16 suspects over the killings, including two men held last week when they tried to bomb a girl’s school in Kunduz.
“One of the two detainees has provided vital information on the attack on the Chinese,” local military commander Gen. Mohammed Daud said earlier this week.
Jalali said he also believed the blast near the girl’s school could be linked to the slaying of the Chinese, but he refused to elaborate.
“Since the investigation is going on, I don’t want to leak more information because it will affect the investigation.”
The incident took place in Jalawgeer district, some 36 kilometers (22 miles) south of Kunduz city, home to around 100 Chinese workers building a road in the area. The Chinese Embassy in Kabul has described the raid as a “terrorist attack” and Afghan President Hamid Karzai said it was the work of the “enemies of Afghanistan.”
However, residents in Kunduz have said the attack could be linked to bitterness among local commanders supporting rival companies who failed to secure the road construction contract.
Questioned about the motives of the killers yesterday, Kunduz police chief Mutalib Bek said all information on the murders had been passed on to the Interior Ministry. The 16 suspects, who local officials had previously said had links to the ousted Taleban and other militant groups, had also been transferred to a jail in Kabul and no further people had been detained, he said.
“Whatever the interior minister has said, is correct,” Bek said. Afghanistan’s northern region, which was believed to be the safest area in the country, has recently witnessed attacks on aid workers, non-governmental organizations and construction companies.
Meanwhile, some 600 Afghan soldiers were deployed yesterday to halt factional violence in the country’s northwest that has added to nationwide security fears as Afghanistan heads for landmark polls.
The Afghan National Army troops have been despatched to Chaghcharan, the capital of mountainous Ghor province, and its airport, following an outbreak of fighting last week, Gen. Aminullah Patiani said.
“The fourth ANA batallion — counting about 600 men — was deployed this morning to Chaghcharan and its environs,” after arriving from the main western city of Herat by road, Patiani said. “They are now patrolling in the city, they have taken positions in public buildings, notably the government as well as the airport.” Five people died in last week’s clashes between rival militias — in theory both under the authority of the Afghan Defense Ministry — which saw one commander’s men take control of the city, west of Kabul.
This is the third time since March that the government of Karzai has despatched troops from the newly-formed national army to combat factional fighting in the north. With much of Afghanistan under the control of warlords and commanders the national army, comprised of different ethnic groups, has appeared to allow Karzai’s administration to extend its influence beyond the capital.
