Kabul, Afghanistan – A deadly traffic accident caused by a U.S. military convoy quickly touched off a full-blown anti- American riot Monday that raged across much of the Afghan capital, leaving at least 14 people dead and scores injured.
Witnesses said American soldiers fired on Afghans throwing stones at them after the crash, though the U.S. military said only that warning shots had been fired in the air.
But the crash tapped into a latent resentment of the American military presence, and violence radiated quickly through the city as rumors circulated that the crash may have been deliberate.
Gunfire rang out as Afghan police officers and army soldiers tried to contain rioters who rampaged through the streets for about six hours, burning and looting a dozen offices, cars and police posts.
By the end of the day, at least 14 people were dead and more than 90 injured, hospital officials said. It was the bloodiest day in the capital since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001.
The Interior Ministry announced a curfew for the city from 10 p.m. until 4 a.m., and President Hamid Karzai called for calm on national television.
“This country has been destroyed for years by rioters,” he said, “and they are using this traffic incident as an excuse.”
The speed and magnitude of the unrest were such that hundreds of police officers and soldiers struggled to contain the violence.
The Afghan government and the U.S. military authority issued statements promising full investigations of the accident.
It became clear the U.S. military and the Afghan police and army had used their weapons to try to disperse the crowds. Scores of people were treated in hospitals for gunshot wounds.
A 7-year-old boy was among the dead, and two more schoolchildren were badly injured, said Dr. Amin of Khair Khana hospital in the northern part of Kabul, who like many Afghans uses only one name.
Monday’s clashes began early in the morning when a truck leading a U.S. military convoy smashed into 12 cars in rush-hour traffic as it went down a long hill.
The U.S. military said in a statement, “A large cargo truck apparently experienced a mechanical failure.”