Seven people were killed when protesters angry over what they see as unfair food aid distribution during the coronavirus pandemic clashed with police in Afghanistan’s western Ghor province on Saturday, according to a local member of parliament.
Fourteen more were wounded during the protest — sparked by growing unhappiness at the distribution allegedly favoring people with political connections, said Gulzaman Nayeb, a lawmaker representing Ghor.
Police opened fire after some among the around 300 protesters threw stones and started firing guns and trying to enter the governor’s house, said Mohammad Arif Aber, a spokesman for the provincial governor of Ghor.
He put the toll at two dead and five wounded, adding police were among the wounded. He denied that aid was being unfairly distributed.
Among the dead was Ahmad Naveed Khan, a local volunteer radio presenter who was sitting at his nearby shop and hit in the head by a bullet, according to Ahmad Quraishi, Executive Director at the Afghanistan Journalists Center.
The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) is looking into the “worrying reports of police firing on protesters,” its chairperson Shaharzad Akbar said on Twitter.
The government has been distributing food aid around the country as the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic have led to many job losses and rising food prices.
Akbar told Reuters this week that the commission was being inundated with complaints from the public that food aid is being distributed unfairly.
Rights group Amnesty International also called for an independent investigation into the use of police force.
Reacting to the incident, Afghanistan’s First Vice President Amrullah Saleh said he was shocked and saddened by the news.
“We will investigate the incident seriously,” Saleh wrote on Facebook.
Ghor is one of the most deprived, undeveloped and insecure provinces in the country.
Afghanistan has begun the free distribution of bread at bakeries for the poor as the coronavirus lockdown continues.
MoPH has reported 4,033 cases of the coronavirus and 115 deaths.
The World Bank said on Friday in addition to security and political uncertainties, the global pandemic and high rate of poverty have caused major challenges in Afghanistan.
