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Aid group says Taliban looted its offices
Members of the Taliban militia looted five offices operated by an international aid group in northern Afghanistan, beating some local staff and forcing them to shut operations, an official with the organisation said.
Members of the Taliban militia looted five offices operated by an international aid group in northern Afghanistan, beating some local staff and forcing them to shut operations, an official with the organisation said.
Sidney Petersson, director of the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, said its offices were looted on and off for two days in five separate Afghan cities -- Mazar-e-Sharif, Pul-e-Khumri, Kunduz, Taloqan and Ghazni.
Afghan staff of the Swedish Committee, which operates clinics and schools and helps farmers grow crops in rural Afghanistan, were beaten and forced to flee, Petersson said. The attacks started on Tuesday and continued until Thursday, he said.
The Taliban, who are predominantly Pashtun and Sunni Muslims, enjoy little popular support in parts of the northern Afghanistan, where Uzbeks, Tajiks and Hazaras and Shiite Muslims are the majority.
In Mazar-e-Sharif, the largest city in northern Afghanistan, Taliban members looted and seized the Swedish Committee office Tuesday, he said. The office reopened soon, but the same group of Taliban came back and set fuel reserves on fire, he said.
Other local Taliban tried to intervene but were unsuccessful, he said. Petersson said nearly half of the committee's 80 vehicles were taken, and - in Ghazni - used by senior Taliban officials to flee the region. Computers, printers, photocopying machines, telephones and furniture also were taken, he said.
A statement from the Swedish Committee, quoting a senior staffer in the organization, said all offices of international groups in Pul-i-Kumri have been closed and partially looted.
At the main Swedish Committee compound there, the Taliban also beat Afghan guards and took several vehicles. Staffers fled, and their whereabouts are not known, the statement said.
All international UN staff and other international aid groups withdrew from Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States. Afghan staff are now running relief operations. Bureau Report
Sidney Petersson, director of the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, said its offices were looted on and off for two days in five separate Afghan cities -- Mazar-e-Sharif, Pul-e-Khumri, Kunduz, Taloqan and Ghazni.
Afghan staff of the Swedish Committee, which operates clinics and schools and helps farmers grow crops in rural Afghanistan, were beaten and forced to flee, Petersson said. The attacks started on Tuesday and continued until Thursday, he said.
The Taliban, who are predominantly Pashtun and Sunni Muslims, enjoy little popular support in parts of the northern Afghanistan, where Uzbeks, Tajiks and Hazaras and Shiite Muslims are the majority.
In Mazar-e-Sharif, the largest city in northern Afghanistan, Taliban members looted and seized the Swedish Committee office Tuesday, he said. The office reopened soon, but the same group of Taliban came back and set fuel reserves on fire, he said.
Other local Taliban tried to intervene but were unsuccessful, he said. Petersson said nearly half of the committee's 80 vehicles were taken, and - in Ghazni - used by senior Taliban officials to flee the region. Computers, printers, photocopying machines, telephones and furniture also were taken, he said.
A statement from the Swedish Committee, quoting a senior staffer in the organization, said all offices of international groups in Pul-i-Kumri have been closed and partially looted.
At the main Swedish Committee compound there, the Taliban also beat Afghan guards and took several vehicles. Staffers fled, and their whereabouts are not known, the statement said.
All international UN staff and other international aid groups withdrew from Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States. Afghan staff are now running relief operations. Bureau Report