Afghanistan: Police shoot at protesters and kill journalists

With sharp shots, Afghan police in Ghor province have dispersed violent demonstrators demanding promised government aid packages. At least three people, including an Afghan journalist, were killed, according to authorities. There were also casualties.

Hundreds of poor people had demonstrated in front of the governor’s residence in Firuskoh, provincial councillor Abdul Basir Kaderi told the German Press Agency. They would have demanded flour and rice, which the government had promised them but had not delivered. Because of the lockdown in the Corona pandemic, there are supply defects at the Hindu Kush. Afghanistan officially has about 4,000 Covid-19 cases out of 15,000 people tested.

A spokesman for the governor said some protesters had been carrying weapons. Kaderi said the protesters had damaged state facilities and attacked the police. Police opened fire after the use of water cannons and shots into the air did not work. “Now there is a military situation in the city,” Kaderi said. “There are tanks on the streets.”