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Afghans to take lead of security in elections

2009-08-06 14:10 BJT

Special Report: Afghan presidential election |

by Abbas Ali

KABUL, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- There are only 14 days to the presidential and provincial council elections in Afghanistan. Security is considered the biggest challenge for the insurgency-hit country where people would vote for the second presidential elections on August 20, 2009.

Taliban, rejecting the recent call of incumbent President Karzai to join the political process, has asked people to keep away from polling stations and not go for voting.

Militants in a statement have said they would block roads a day before the polling. It said they would target the polling stations.

The recent surge in insurgent attacks before the elections has raised concerns among Afghans as seven rockets fired by Taliban militants on Tuesday shocked the capital city of Kabul after almost one year.

The running mate of incumbent President Karzai was injured in an attack in Kunduz last week on Sunday, July 26, 2009.

Prior to this, an official of the Independent Election Commission was shot dead in this province two weeks ago.

The past two weeks has seen a rapid surge in attacks by suicide bombers. A couple of days ago six bombers blew themselves up in Khost province. Ministry of Defense last week said 16 suicide attackers were aimed at targets in different province. Three blew themselves up in police encounter while others were arrested.

Meantime, casualties of the NATO and Afghan forces increase as the polling day gets nearer. The past July was the deadliest for International Security Assistance Forces.

Military operations are carried in different provinces before elections. The military offensive in Helmand, Operation Khanjar --the largest since the ouster of Taliban -- with 4,000 U.S. Marines and 650 Afghans was aimed at laying down a secure ground for peaceful conduction of elections.

Last week in a joint press conference the spokesman of Defense Ministry, General Zahir Azimi and spokesperson for International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, General Tremely talked about the security plan for the elections.