My first post here, but have been lurking. I wonder how this could happen....Afghan minister lynched by pilgrims in Kabul: government
Friday February 15, 8:00 AM
Afghan minister lynched by pilgrims in Kabul: government
sg.news.yahoo.com
Afghanistan's minister for aviation and tourism Abdul Rahman died after he was beaten by an angry mob of pilgrims who had been delayed for two days at Kabul airport, sources in the interim government told AFP.
Abdul Rahman "is dead, killed by furious hajj pilgrims," said General Khalil Omed, the deputy commander for Kabul security.
"The pilgrims were furious because the planes were not arriving. At the same moment the minister was leaving for Delhi. They attacked him in their hundreds. They beat him. Police tried to save him but were unable to," added defence ministry secretary Habeel (EDS: one name).
He said the interim minister "was taken to hospital", but was unable to say where the victim died, adding that the interim cabinet held a meeting after the bloody incident.
The incident took place at around 6:00pm (1330 GMT), he said.
Airport sources said two planes carrying 890 pilgrims later left for Mecca.
Afghanistan's Defence Minister, General Mohammad Qasim Fahim cut short his visit to Moscow by a day to race back to Kabul on hearing about the attack. Troops had been deployed along the road leading to the airport.
The frustration of Afghans trying to reach Mecca had been growing after several days of visa and plane delays.
According to Arab satellite television Al-Jazeera, the pilgrims became incensed after hearing rumours that one of their planes to Saudi Arabia had been seconded to take Rahman and his family to India.
Earlier Thursday hundreds crowded the airport in freezing temperatures, some clad only in light white hajj robes, anxious that they might not make it in time for hajj which starts next week.
Some had been waiting at the airport for more than 24 hours for the chance to take part in the pilgrimage.
The pilgrims had been told to arrive Wednesday morning for a flight chartered by the interim Afghan authority from a company in the United Arab Emirates. But more than a day later, no plane had arrived.
It was yet another disappointment for the 15,000 Afghans planning to visit Mecca this year who had first faced complications in receiving visas because the Saudi embassy in Kabul had been closed since the Taliban fled in November.
Riyadh, which was one of three governments to recognize the Taliban before the September 11 attacks in the United States, had on Monday sent a six-person team to Afghanistan to issue hajj visas.
Saudi Arabia was also to send four flights to Kabul on Wednesday to take 1,800 pilgrims, but the planes could not land due to technical problems at the airport, officials said.
"I've been waiting for two days and I don't know what will happen," said Marzia, a 50-year-old pilgrim waiting at the airport.
"It's very cold," she added. |
