.As Fighting Subsides, Afghans Plant a Flag in Marja
MARJA, Afghanistan — The black, red and green flag of Afghanistan was hoisted over the center of this onetime militant stronghold on Thursday, as Afghan officials symbolically claimed control after a major military offensive by Afghan and international troops to drive out Taliban fighters.
With Afghan soldiers, tribal elders and residents of Marja looking on, the governor of Helmand Province, which includes Marja, and a leading Afghan army general promised at the ceremonial flag-raising to restore security and stability to the city, and to transform it from a bastion of the Taliban into a “symbol of peace.”
But even as the government re-staked its claim on the center of Marja, there were reports of scattered fighting in the fields to the north of the city as American and Afghan troops continued to pursue Taliban militants.
And Gen. Mohammed Zahir Azimi, a spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, said that it could take up to a month for the Defense and Interior ministries to remove buried bombs and booby traps and rout pockets of insurgents in Marja. Sporadic fighting and resistance could even last longer, adding to the difficulties of setting up a fully functional local government. Gen. Sher Muhammad Zazai, the Afghan Army’s top commander in the Marja campaign, said the operation’s military goals were “almost achieved,” and promised residents that the Taliban would no longer pose a threat to the area. Marja, a town of about 80,000 near the Pakistani border, had been an enclave for the Taliban for nearly three years.
American military officials have described the battle for Marja part of a larger military campaign to rout the Taliban.
The Helmand governor, Gulab Mangal, said that troops from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force would remain in the area until security was restored, and would not allow Marja to again fall to the Taliban. He promised that reconstruction projects would begin soon, and promised that the Afghan government and President Hamid Karzai would run the city better than the Taliban had.
“What did they do for you people?” Mr. Mangal said at the ceremony, which took place near the site of the new government offices. “Are there any schools, clinics being built by the Taliban? Are they helping you?”
Coalition officials, trying to quickly restore government services, have begun to set up schools and hire employees to fill jobs in the district government.
Afghan officials also expressed their condolences to civilians who were killed and wounded in the battle, which began on Feb. 12, the largest military campaign since the United States-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. But Mr. Mangal said it was a “great achievement” that so few civilians had been killed.
The military warned of the offensive for weeks in advance in an effort to preemptively drive away Taliban militants and keep civilian casualties to a minimum. But the Afghan human rights commission said that 28 civilians had nonetheless been killed in the fighting. At least 12 NATO service members have been killed during the campaign.
Residents who had fled the fighting were gradually returning on Thursday, reopening their shops and assessing any damage or losses. Some shop owners complained that their goods had been stolen and said they wanted compensation.
As residents watched the flag-raising ceremony on Thursday, some expressed mixed feelings about the change of power. They said the Taliban had provided order and security, and said the Afghan army now needed to prove it could open schools, clear mines and explosives from the roads and fields and keep the population safe.
One shopkeeper, Baz Muhammad, 25, said he returned to Marja after fleeing for 10 days during the fighting. He said he welcomed the arrival of Afghan forces, but he was leery of foreign troops, and said he would support the return of the Taliban if NATO troops overstepped their bounds.
“People are saying they will raid our houses at night and they will kill us or detain us,” Mr. Muhammad said.
Juma Gul, 20, a said his family had remained in the city even after his grandfather was shot and killed in front of his home.
“The operation was painful and full of miseries for our family,” Mr. Gul said, adding that he wanted to see the militaries leave as soon as possible. “For us, they are not useful. We don’t want them to stay in Marja. We want them to leave. For us, both the Taliban and Marines are the same. They are fighting and killing us. We don’t want either.”
NATO said Thursday that two service members had died in southern Afghanistan — one on Wednesday when an improvised explosive device blew up, and the other on Thursday from small arms fire. A statement from NATO said the trooper killed on Wednesday had not died as part of the Marja campaign. There was no additional information on the service member killed Thursday.
NYT
With Afghan soldiers, tribal elders and residents of Marja looking on, the governor of Helmand Province, which includes Marja, and a leading Afghan army general promised at the ceremonial flag-raising to restore security and stability to the city, and to transform it from a bastion of the Taliban into a “symbol of peace.”
But even as the government re-staked its claim on the center of Marja, there were reports of scattered fighting in the fields to the north of the city as American and Afghan troops continued to pursue Taliban militants.
And Gen. Mohammed Zahir Azimi, a spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, said that it could take up to a month for the Defense and Interior ministries to remove buried bombs and booby traps and rout pockets of insurgents in Marja. Sporadic fighting and resistance could even last longer, adding to the difficulties of setting up a fully functional local government. Gen. Sher Muhammad Zazai, the Afghan Army’s top commander in the Marja campaign, said the operation’s military goals were “almost achieved,” and promised residents that the Taliban would no longer pose a threat to the area. Marja, a town of about 80,000 near the Pakistani border, had been an enclave for the Taliban for nearly three years.
American military officials have described the battle for Marja part of a larger military campaign to rout the Taliban.
The Helmand governor, Gulab Mangal, said that troops from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force would remain in the area until security was restored, and would not allow Marja to again fall to the Taliban. He promised that reconstruction projects would begin soon, and promised that the Afghan government and President Hamid Karzai would run the city better than the Taliban had.
“What did they do for you people?” Mr. Mangal said at the ceremony, which took place near the site of the new government offices. “Are there any schools, clinics being built by the Taliban? Are they helping you?”
Coalition officials, trying to quickly restore government services, have begun to set up schools and hire employees to fill jobs in the district government.
Afghan officials also expressed their condolences to civilians who were killed and wounded in the battle, which began on Feb. 12, the largest military campaign since the United States-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. But Mr. Mangal said it was a “great achievement” that so few civilians had been killed.
The military warned of the offensive for weeks in advance in an effort to preemptively drive away Taliban militants and keep civilian casualties to a minimum. But the Afghan human rights commission said that 28 civilians had nonetheless been killed in the fighting. At least 12 NATO service members have been killed during the campaign.
Residents who had fled the fighting were gradually returning on Thursday, reopening their shops and assessing any damage or losses. Some shop owners complained that their goods had been stolen and said they wanted compensation.
As residents watched the flag-raising ceremony on Thursday, some expressed mixed feelings about the change of power. They said the Taliban had provided order and security, and said the Afghan army now needed to prove it could open schools, clear mines and explosives from the roads and fields and keep the population safe.
One shopkeeper, Baz Muhammad, 25, said he returned to Marja after fleeing for 10 days during the fighting. He said he welcomed the arrival of Afghan forces, but he was leery of foreign troops, and said he would support the return of the Taliban if NATO troops overstepped their bounds.
“People are saying they will raid our houses at night and they will kill us or detain us,” Mr. Muhammad said.
Juma Gul, 20, a said his family had remained in the city even after his grandfather was shot and killed in front of his home.
“The operation was painful and full of miseries for our family,” Mr. Gul said, adding that he wanted to see the militaries leave as soon as possible. “For us, they are not useful. We don’t want them to stay in Marja. We want them to leave. For us, both the Taliban and Marines are the same. They are fighting and killing us. We don’t want either.”
NATO said Thursday that two service members had died in southern Afghanistan — one on Wednesday when an improvised explosive device blew up, and the other on Thursday from small arms fire. A statement from NATO said the trooper killed on Wednesday had not died as part of the Marja campaign. There was no additional information on the service member killed Thursday.
NYT
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