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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Warlord's removal protested <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Afghans attack U.N. offices; shout anti-American slogans<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Kim Barker<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><font size=3
face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Chicago</span></font></st1:place></st1:City><font
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial'> Tribune<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>September 13, 2004<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:City w:st="on"><font size=3 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'>KABUL</span></font></st1:City><font
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial'>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:country-region>
— Hundreds of people rioted in the western city of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Herat</st1:place></st1:City> on Sunday, attacking United Nations
offices and shouting anti-American slogans to protest a powerful warlord's
removal as provincial governor.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Various news agencies reported that three to eight people
were killed and dozens injured in the rioting; Afghan government officials in <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kabul</st1:place></st1:City> had initially
insisted that no one had died.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Protests began after Ismail Khan, who ruled <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Herat</st1:place></st1:City> province — the country's richest
— with an iron fist, was removed from his post Saturday and was asked to
become the federal minister of mines and industries. He turned down the job.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Demonstrations turned into riots as crowds threw rocks at <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> soldiers
and set two fires and ransacked five U.N. and aid group buildings. Protesters
yelled slogans against American troops and U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>At least three <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> soldiers and one Afghan
soldier were injured in the violence.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>"Our people have the freedom to demonstrate in a
peaceful way," said Karzai at a news conference Sunday. "But if they
create problems, destroy shops, they're the enemies of our country."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>The deteriorating security situation in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Herat</st1:place></st1:City> poses a problem for Karzai, who faces
an Oct. 9 election. He has turned warlords into a campaign issue, and promised
Saturday to reel them in. Karzai removed Khan and also the governor of Ghor province.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>The moves were supposed to bring stability to <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s
western provinces.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>By late Sunday, troops had pushed the protesters into an
area of less than a mile. There were two demonstrations Sunday night, which
were not violent.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>"The city is now mostly calm," the <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> military
said.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Mohammadullah Afzali, a provincial foreign relations
official, said Khan's supporters had tried to demonstrate peacefully, but
opportunists turned the demonstration into a riot.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Khan, one of the most powerful warlords in <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:country-region>, is a hero of the Afghan war against
the <st1:place w:st="on">Soviet Union</st1:place>, a famed fighter with a loyal
militia.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>As governor, he has been praised for turning <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Herat</st1:place></st1:City> into one of the
country's nicer cities, largely immune from the Taliban insurgency, with new
construction, grass and city services.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>But Khan has been blamed for keeping tax dollars that should
have been passed on to the central government. He also has been accused of
oppressing women and torturing his enemies, and he has resisted disarming his militia.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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