April 10, 2006

Five Christian Aid Workers Murdered by Taliban

Reports are that the five civilians may have been murdered by drug lords. I don't buy it for one second. The Taliban in resurgent in Afghanistan and until there is some evidence to the contrary, should be considered the prime suspects. Why kill them? Because the Rural Rehabilitation Association for Afghanistan (RRAA) is funded by Christian organizations. What more justification have the Taliban and their al Qaeda allies ever needed to kill? Notice that the aid workers were first tied up and then shot-- a sign that their murderers first gave them a Sharia kangaroo court, followed by a sentence of 'guilty' for 'apostasy' before 'executing' them.

Christian Aid:

Five medical staff working for a Christian Aid-funded organisation have been murdered in north-west Afghanistan.

The victims include a doctor, community health worker, and health educator who were part of a project run by the Rural Rehabilitation Association for Afghanistan (RRAA), in Darrah-i-Bohm, Badghis province.

It is thought that at least four gunmen broke into their clinic at around 1am today (local time). According to reports, the gunmen tied them up before shooting them.

The local community, fearing for their lives, did not approach the scene until dawn when they raised the alarm with RRAA staff – government police forces do not operate in this isolated region.

Christian Aid’s Fazl Rabi said: ‘We work as a team with our partners and we are sharing their pain at this loss. This clinic was in a very poor area with no facilities but the dedicated staff were providing essential services. We’re all very upset.’

Sayed Abdul Hakim, of RRAA, said: ‘We express our regret and condolences to the families, friends and relatives of these innocents who have spent their lives serving the most vulnerable people living in this most remote area of Afghanistan. Peace be upon them.’

RRAA staff are retrieving the bodies of the deceased and returning them to their families.

Elsewhere in Helmand, Taliban militants stopped two Afghan trucks transporting food for coalition forces and killed one driver, while the other fled in his vehicle, according to a local district police chief.
...

The Taliban have regularly attacked aid workers and road construction crews, saying their work is supporting the government and foreign forces. About 30 aid workers were killed last year.

A Health Ministry official blamed terrorists. "It's a terrorist attack to intimidate people working with the government side," said the official, Abdullah Fahim.

The attackers also set fire to the clinic, he said.