Thousands of Afghans flee Marja in anticiption of US/UK attack

Jon Boone reports for the Guardian newspaper that tens of thousands of Afghan civilians are fleeing their homes in Marja in fear of an anticipated UK/US military attack. The attack is aimed at dislodging 1,700 or so Taliban fighters who are believed to be there. Note that there are no references in the article on preparations for temporary living arrangements or support services for the refugees. Apparently, the people of Marja have two choices. Stay in their homes and risk being killed in the upcoming battle. Or run for their lives, hoping that living is better than dying. In either case, if they survive, they may be left with devastated communities and homes.

The assault on Marja is based on the US counterinsurgency plan, the first phase of which is to secure an area. In this case, it is to drive out the Taliban. If the Taliban resist, there may not be much left for the Afghan residents who return. The second phase of counterinsurgency is to keep the Taliban from returning to the area. This remains to be seen. The third phase is to usher in rebuilding or development projects. In Marja, if there is a battle, a big rebuilding project may be required just to remove the rubble and get back to square one. Another question: Since this is a major drug producing and trafficking location, what are the plans to deal with this matter?

Bob
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Published on Saturday, February 6, 2010 by The Guardian/UK - reprinted by CommonDreams.org. (See URL at the end of the article.)

Thousands of Civilians Flee Afghan Region as Nato Plans Onslaught
Evacuation of most civilians will give commanders leeway to use air-to-ground missiles which have enraged Afghans
by Jon Boone

KABUL - Ten of thousands of Afghan civilians are abandoning an area of central Helmland where UK and US forces are set to launch one of the biggest operations of the year.
British troops during a firefight with Taliban forces in Helmand. Photograph: Major Paul Smyth/PA/MoDThe evacuation of most civilians from the town of Marjah and surrounding areas will give commanders greater leeway to use mortars-and-air-to ground missiles which have enraged Afghans in the past when responsible for civilian deaths.

US generals have unusually made no secret of their plan for a major onslaught against the town close to Helmand's besieged provincial capital, Lashkar Gah.

Larry Nicholson, commander of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force which will spearhead the fight, has said he is "not looking for a fair fight".

Marjah is regarded as a stronghold of both Taliban insurgents and drug trafficking networks which must be removed to "protect" the people who live there. But so far the warnings have only had the effect of encouraging civilians to flee.

Abdul Salam, who has an extended family of 14 in the Marjah area, said his village looked almost deserted as most of its families had left for the cities of Lashkar Gah, Kandahar and Herat.
"They just picked up their jewellery and other small valuables and left everything behind," he said.

However, some civilians had remained because they could not afford to leave.

"People know they cannot protect everything, and they are more concerned about saving their lives than their houses. The people cannot protect their country from the infidels, so how can we protect our houses?"

The counterinsurgency plan pushed by Stanley McChrystal, the US commander of all Nato forces in Afghanistan, aims not to alienate the population. But a Marjah resident, an elder reached by phone, who was not prepared to give his name, said he had evacuated his family a week ago because he feared "the worst attack ever".

"Always when they storm a village the foreign troops never care about civilian casualties at all. And at the end of the day they report the deaths of women and children as the deaths of Taliban," he said.

A spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force, as the Nato troops are known, said that the main reason for publicity for the operation was to encourage insurgents to leave, but if civilians were also encouraged to evacuate that would be "helpful".

Most of the extra 30,000 US troops earmarked for the Afghan campaign will support Nato efforts in areas where the alliance has a presence, in a bid to keep insurgents out of villages. The battle for Marjah will therefore be a relatively rare push into an area not yet cleared of insurgents.

It is regarded as particularly important because an estimated 100,000 people live in the area - a relatively dense population for a largely desert province dotted with rural communities.
Marjah is also on the south-western doorstep of Lashkar Gah, home to the headquarters of the British military and civilian efforts in the province.

The fraught security in Lashkar Gah was highlighted yesterday when a motorbike packed with explosives detonated close to a crowd gathered on the city outskirts to watch a dog fight; it killed at least three people and injured at least 26, including seven children.

© Guardian News and Media Limited 2010
Article printed from www.CommonDreams.org
URL to article: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/02/06-0