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Afghan Paper Says US Forces Caused Forest Fires During Operation

Posted on: Friday, 9 December 2005, 15:00 CST

Text of report entitled: "Protection and preservation of forests" by Afghan newspaper Thabat in Pashto on 7 December

Forests in the (?Korengal) area of Manogay District of Konar mysteriously caught fire on 30 Laram [21 November 05] and the fire lasted for around one week. Fortunately, heavy rains extinguished the fire after 25 hectares of forest and approximately 700,000 feet of wood were destroyed last week.

These forests had caught fire in the past as well. In the past, officials said the cause of fire was local tribal disputes. This time, neither the authorities nor their spokesmen were ready to comment or express their opinion on the main cause of the fire. Only a few local residents and an official of the Konar Province Agriculture Department told news sources that the incident occurred when the coalition forces bombed the area. Although the coalition forces have not officially admitted this, there is evidence to prove this allegation.

1. The forests were on fire for almost seven days. Although the Afghan government, the coalition and other peacekeeping forces possess fire-fighting equipment, they did not take any action to extinguish the fire.

2. Forests caught fire while the coalition forces were carrying out military operations against the Taleban and Al-Qa'idah fighters and were bombing the area.

3. Setting fire to forests where the enemy is hiding and in some cases, burning the bodies of rebel fighters are part of the US military strategy. Americans destroyed and burnt 60 per cent of forests in Vietnam through bombardment because secret pockets of insurgents were hiding there. American soldiers set fire to the bodies of two Taleban fighters in the north of Kandahar Province early this year [1384] to scare the enemy.

In view of these facts, it is possible that the US troops may be using these tactics in Afghanistan as well.

We do not want to directly blame someone for this. However, it is worth pointing out that no matter who was responsible for this, this has been harmful for Afghanistan and its people. Forests are part of our national resources and have several economic and geographical benefits. The government should safeguard and protect the forests and should not allow anyone to destroy them for any reason.

Source: BBC Monitoring South Asia

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