Afghanistan: Order Restored After Friday Incident

Tension has been running high in Afghanistan since the burning of the Koran at a US military base in Bagram on Februrary 21, despite top NATO general John R. Allen’s official apology in which he said the incident was not intentional. At the same time, the general ordered the expansion of the troops’ cultural awareness which includes recognition and proper handling of different religious texts.

The protests were initially confined to the area of Kabul and Bagram, but later spread across almost the whole country, reaching the northern region and within that Baghlan Province, the area of responsibility of the Hungarian Defence Forces Provincial Reconstruction Team (HUN PRT).

On February 23 the leaders of the Hungarian contingent started discussing the possible evacuation of civil organizations in the province, because the military unit in charge of a given area of operations must take care of the international staffs of these organizations in emergencies. Due to the emerging situation, they also discussed potential cooperation with the deputy chief of police of the province (in the absence of his superior) and with the leader of the provincial council. Meanwhile, some small-scale demonstrations were held in Baghlan Markezi, the second largest city of the province. These protests turned violent in the afternoon and claimed one life. Finally the Afghan security forces took firm action and managed to bring the crowd under control.

According to information available in the morning of February 24, a large crowd of protesters was expected to gather in the town of Pol-e Khomri following the prayer at noon in the afternoon hours. The HUN PRT commander contacted the international staff of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) who accepted the offer to help and came to stay in the safe haven of the Hungarian camp. The other international organizations were monitoring the situation as it grew more serious, but did not take advantage of the help offered by the contingent. Some religious leaders delivered propaganda speeches trough loudspeakers in the town. Following the prayer at noon, the sufficiently incited crowd left for the already evacuated UNAMA headquarters building and proceeded from there to Camp Pannonia.

In the meantime, the local security organs deployed in strength at the main entrance of the camp, which was closed immediately to shut out the crowd chanting anti-US slogans. Comprising mainly young men, the angry and threatening crowd numbering around 1,000 wielded sticks and started hurling stones at the Hungarian camp and the local security forces. During the containment and the maneuver one local man lost his life and at least nine were injured. It took several hours to disperse the crowd and restore order.

When the incident began, the HUN PRT commander ordered the personnel to immediately take the necessary security precautions. Thanks to the professionalism of the local security forces and the Hungarian troops, no one was injured. The hail of stones caused minimal material damage. Although the events of the day were quite a trial of strength, by the end of the day order was restored outside the walls of the camp, and inside them too, with observing the necessary precautions.

(MoD Press Office; HUN PRT)