Axe Attack Highlights Resentment
Shocking assault on a Canadian soldier reflects wider sense of anger many Afghans feel about the foreign troop presence in the south.
Axe Attack Highlights Resentment
Shocking assault on a Canadian soldier reflects wider sense of anger many Afghans feel about the foreign troop presence in the south.
Shinkay is a small, poor village in the volatile southern province of Kandahar and is little known outside the region. But one warm spring day in early March it became famous.
Around 45 people were gathered under trees in Shinkay, listening intently to a group of foreign visitors. Captain Trevor Greene, 41, was part of a team of soldiers that meets regularly with villagers across Kandahar province, trying to find out what their concerns and needs are.
The Canadians took over from United States troops ensuring security in Kandahar in February.
As a gesture of respect, Captain Greene had removed his military helmet, and sat unprotected among the Afghans. Suddenly, a thin youth sneaked up behind him and brought an axe down on his bare head.
The attacker was quickly gunned down by Canadian soldiers. He was later identified as Abdul Karim, just 16 years old.
Greene spent two weeks in hospital in Germany. He is now back home in Canada, and is expected to make a full recovery.
The incident highlights the strong emotions felt by many Afghans under what they see as a hostile foreign occupation.
Immediately after the attack, the questions swirled: Was Abdul Karim a Taleban insurgent? Was he mentally ill? Were the other villagers complicit in the attack?
The Canadian military initially said that the attack was part of a well-planned ambush.
“This attack has had a very negative effect on our mission,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Ian Hope, who heads the Canadian task force in Kandahar. "We have launched an investigation into the case, and we want to get complete information about the attacker.”
But Captain Julie Roberge, spokesperson for the Canadian forces, told IWPR that this assessment has since changed, “We do not think there was a plan, but we will continue to investigate."
Shinkay residents, including people close to the assailant, say that the attack was a protest by a young boy outraged at the behaviour of foreign troops, particularly the Americans.
“The foreigners themselves make people stand against them,” said Tela Mohammad, a village elder, who introduced himself as a close relative of the attacker. “Abdul Karim was not linked to the Taleban, nor did he know anything about any factions or groups.”
According to Haji Mohammad Esa, a resident of the Shah Wali Kot district where Shinkay is located, Abdul Karim was a quiet boy, the son of a poor cobbler in the village.
“Karim was always alone. He didn't have much contact with the other villagers,” said Esa. “We were all surprised when he suddenly attacked the soldier. But I think the main reason he did it was because he was angry at the foreign troops.”
The Canadians have had a difficult time since they took from the Americans.
There are now more than 2,200 troops from Canada in Kandahar province, and they are increasingly coming under attack. Over 20 Canadian soldiers have died in Afghanistan, two of them in the weeks immediately preceding the attack on Greene.
The residents of Shah Wali Kot do not make a distinction between the Canadians and soldiers from the United States. In fact, villagers say, the Canadians are now beginning to behave like the more aggressive US troops.
“We have gone to see the Canadians in Kandahar several times,” said Esa. “We have asked them to have more respect for our culture and beliefs, but they don't.”
Villages like Shinkay have been the target of intensive searches by the US-led Coalition Forces in the area, who are tasked with finding and stamping out the insurgency. Even military insiders say privately that the American forces are sometimes overzealous in their efforts.
“US troops do not show proper respect for our culture and religious beliefs,” said Esa. “They enter homes without permission and disturb people, which makes people hate them.”
“When US troops come to a house, they do not even let the owner open the door,” said Ghulam Mohammad, another villager. “They just break down the door and enter the house. That has made people very upset.”
The Taleban, for their part, put pressure on local residents not to cooperate with Coalition forces. This leaves Afghans caught between two opposing sides.
“Our village has been searched more than 40 times over the past four years,” said Esa. “Foreigners accuse us of being Taleban and al-Qaeda. The Taleban and al-Qaeda accuse us of having links to the government. We do not know what we are being punished for.”
This uneasiness in the face of conflicting forces may explain one of the most perplexing features of the case. The media made much of the fact that all of the children had been led away to their homes right before the attack, bolstering the theory that the villagers had prior knowledge of the violence.
But Ghulam offered another reason, saying, “The Taleban have warned us many times that helping foreigners is helping our enemies. We are afraid of foreigners when they come to visit us, because they bring the Taleban in their wake. When foreigners come here, we try to keep our children at home, because we fear the Taleban.”
Like Esa, Ghulam said that Abdul Karim was acting alone.
“He was acting on his own feelings,” said Ghulam. “If he'd had links with the Taleban or al-Qaeda, they would have given him weapons. He wouldn't have had to use an axe.”
Afghan officials in Kandahar declined to be interviewed on the incident.
Despite the problems and the dangers, Lt-Col Hope says his troops are determined to continue efforts to better the lives of ordinary Afghans.
“The enemy wants to worsen the living condition of poor people,” he said. “But the Canadian soldiers will fulfill the promise they made to the Afghan government.”
Abdullah Shahin is a freelance reporter in Kandahar.
Around 45 people were gathered under trees in Shinkay, listening intently to a group of foreign visitors. Captain Trevor Greene, 41, was part of a team of soldiers that meets regularly with villagers across Kandahar province, trying to find out what their concerns and needs are.
The Canadians took over from United States troops ensuring security in Kandahar in February.
As a gesture of respect, Captain Greene had removed his military helmet, and sat unprotected among the Afghans. Suddenly, a thin youth sneaked up behind him and brought an axe down on his bare head.
The attacker was quickly gunned down by Canadian soldiers. He was later identified as Abdul Karim, just 16 years old.
Greene spent two weeks in hospital in Germany. He is now back home in Canada, and is expected to make a full recovery.
The incident highlights the strong emotions felt by many Afghans under what they see as a hostile foreign occupation.
Immediately after the attack, the questions swirled: Was Abdul Karim a Taleban insurgent? Was he mentally ill? Were the other villagers complicit in the attack?
The Canadian military initially said that the attack was part of a well-planned ambush.
“This attack has had a very negative effect on our mission,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Ian Hope, who heads the Canadian task force in Kandahar. "We have launched an investigation into the case, and we want to get complete information about the attacker.”
But Captain Julie Roberge, spokesperson for the Canadian forces, told IWPR that this assessment has since changed, “We do not think there was a plan, but we will continue to investigate."
Shinkay residents, including people close to the assailant, say that the attack was a protest by a young boy outraged at the behaviour of foreign troops, particularly the Americans.
“The foreigners themselves make people stand against them,” said Tela Mohammad, a village elder, who introduced himself as a close relative of the attacker. “Abdul Karim was not linked to the Taleban, nor did he know anything about any factions or groups.”
According to Haji Mohammad Esa, a resident of the Shah Wali Kot district where Shinkay is located, Abdul Karim was a quiet boy, the son of a poor cobbler in the village.
“Karim was always alone. He didn't have much contact with the other villagers,” said Esa. “We were all surprised when he suddenly attacked the soldier. But I think the main reason he did it was because he was angry at the foreign troops.”
The Canadians have had a difficult time since they took from the Americans.
There are now more than 2,200 troops from Canada in Kandahar province, and they are increasingly coming under attack. Over 20 Canadian soldiers have died in Afghanistan, two of them in the weeks immediately preceding the attack on Greene.
The residents of Shah Wali Kot do not make a distinction between the Canadians and soldiers from the United States. In fact, villagers say, the Canadians are now beginning to behave like the more aggressive US troops.
“We have gone to see the Canadians in Kandahar several times,” said Esa. “We have asked them to have more respect for our culture and beliefs, but they don't.”
Villages like Shinkay have been the target of intensive searches by the US-led Coalition Forces in the area, who are tasked with finding and stamping out the insurgency. Even military insiders say privately that the American forces are sometimes overzealous in their efforts.
“US troops do not show proper respect for our culture and religious beliefs,” said Esa. “They enter homes without permission and disturb people, which makes people hate them.”
“When US troops come to a house, they do not even let the owner open the door,” said Ghulam Mohammad, another villager. “They just break down the door and enter the house. That has made people very upset.”
The Taleban, for their part, put pressure on local residents not to cooperate with Coalition forces. This leaves Afghans caught between two opposing sides.
“Our village has been searched more than 40 times over the past four years,” said Esa. “Foreigners accuse us of being Taleban and al-Qaeda. The Taleban and al-Qaeda accuse us of having links to the government. We do not know what we are being punished for.”
This uneasiness in the face of conflicting forces may explain one of the most perplexing features of the case. The media made much of the fact that all of the children had been led away to their homes right before the attack, bolstering the theory that the villagers had prior knowledge of the violence.
But Ghulam offered another reason, saying, “The Taleban have warned us many times that helping foreigners is helping our enemies. We are afraid of foreigners when they come to visit us, because they bring the Taleban in their wake. When foreigners come here, we try to keep our children at home, because we fear the Taleban.”
Like Esa, Ghulam said that Abdul Karim was acting alone.
“He was acting on his own feelings,” said Ghulam. “If he'd had links with the Taleban or al-Qaeda, they would have given him weapons. He wouldn't have had to use an axe.”
Afghan officials in Kandahar declined to be interviewed on the incident.
Despite the problems and the dangers, Lt-Col Hope says his troops are determined to continue efforts to better the lives of ordinary Afghans.
“The enemy wants to worsen the living condition of poor people,” he said. “But the Canadian soldiers will fulfill the promise they made to the Afghan government.”
Abdullah Shahin is a freelance reporter in Kandahar.
