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01/06/2004: "Kandahar Chronicles #53 - 06/01/2004"

Well shit, that didn’t take long. Less than three hours after the conclusion of the Loya Jurga constitutional process, explosions and automatic rifle fire erupted around the corner at the UNHCR (UN High Commission for Refugees) compound. Initial reports state that gunmen drove up in front of the compound, threw an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) at the wall and opened fire on the guards in front. Luckily, nobody was injured and the car sped off before the police arrived. The UNHCR compound is located on a wide, well-lit street regularly patrolled by American forces. Without giving away too many details, the possible presence of US troops is usually a serious deterrent and an attack like this within the city is uncommon. All we could do was settle in and wait to see what the new day would bring.

We didn’t have to wait long. Between five and six this morning, minutes after the Mullah had called morning prayers, a large bomb detonated somewhere to the east of our compound. I jumped out of bed to have a look but couldn’t see any signs of where exactly from my vantage point. At the time of writing I have yet to get any official word on what or where, but news should reach us soon. What a way to start a day that hadn’t even started yet. There was nothing to do but give the cats a bowl of milk and jump back into bed. I was a bit concerned upon meeting with the guards in the morning that they hadn’t heard anything so I laid down the law about staying awake, especially when security again becomes again less stable.

True to form, incidents like this happen in threes and by early afternoon, we received a call informing us of two explosions out on the airport road. This is also a Coalition patrolled road that has been deemed fairly safe in the past. Again, details are sketchy but it seems this one was deadly. Initial reports we’ve received say eight people have been killed and an unspecified number injured. I’m not sure whether these blasts were mines or IEDs, or if the targets were Coalition forces or just people in the wrong place at the wrong time. Regardless, developments are closely monitored here and we are in close contact with HQ in Kabul as well as the other NGOs. It can’t be confirmed yet if these attacks have been in response to the LJ process or if they are just a continuation of the destabilization campaign, but whatever the case, we want to continue to work for the people of southern Afghanistan.

Welcome back to Kandahar.