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MoI Calls On Alipoor Supporters To Let Law Determine His Fate

Deputy minister of interior for security Akhtar Ibrahimi on Monday called on protesters to let the Afghan legal and judicial institutions determine the fate of local commander Alipoor.

Addressing a press conference in Kabul on Monday, he said judicial institutions need to determine whether Alipoor is innocent or guilty after allegations were lodged against him that include harassment of people and other suspected illegal activities.

Ibrahimi also said some individuals among protestors broke the law on Sunday by rioting.  

He repeatedly rejected claims that police opened fire using live rounds and said: “Live ammunition was not used against the demonstrators on Sunday in Kabul.”  

He also stated that no one had been killed in Sunday’s street battle or on Monday in Kabul but that 48 security force members had been wounded.

According to Ibrahimi, Alipoor, also known as Commander Shamsheer, has a group of about 350 illegal-armed men under him and that he is currently being detained by the National Directorate of Security (NDS).

In a question about the killing of 17 Afghan police officers by the Taliban in Farah province Ibrahimi said: “With respect to the 17 police officers killed in Farah, I must say that 21 terrorist groups including Taliban and Haqqani group operate in Afghanistan and want to destroy our people."

Meanwhile, the Army Chief of Staff Gen. Sharif Yaftali also addressed the press conference and called on protestors to avoid harming government and military installations.

He said that torching check posts or disrupting peace is not acceptable and all Afghans must abide by the law. "Resorting to violence is not a positive step. Attacking military and government installations should be avoided."

Yaftali said Kabul belongs to "our great nation, not a specific ethnicity; people here want rule of law, stability and protection. But a suspect and criminal does not belong to any ethnicity whether Pashtun, Tajik or Hazara”.

Supporters of local commander Alipoor have been protesting against his arrest for the past two days. Sunday’s demonstration turned violent however when protesters reportedly started stoning police.

Police in turn were said to have fired into the air in a bid to disperse the crowd. However, some protesters, who were armed, allegedly shot back. Shots could be heard ringing out in the western part of Kabul for hours on Sunday and footage received by TOLOnews showed dozens of protesters running for cover during one shooting incident.

Soon after Alipoor’s arrest on Sunday, his supporters took to the streets in the Dasht-e-Barchi area in Kabul in protest over the NDS’s actions. Supporters in Bamiyan and Balkh provinces soon followed suit.

Supporters have called for his immediate release and claim he is pro-government and has been fighting the Taliban for weeks in at least three provinces.

The angry protesters said Alipoor had been fending off the Taliban in parts of Maidan Wardak, Ghor and Daikundi provinces - under the structure of the local uprising forces.

MoI Calls On Alipoor Supporters To Let Law Determine His Fate

Deputy minister of interior for security Akhtar Ibrahimi rejected claims that police had used live rounds during Sunday’s demonstration.

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Deputy minister of interior for security Akhtar Ibrahimi on Monday called on protesters to let the Afghan legal and judicial institutions determine the fate of local commander Alipoor.

Addressing a press conference in Kabul on Monday, he said judicial institutions need to determine whether Alipoor is innocent or guilty after allegations were lodged against him that include harassment of people and other suspected illegal activities.

Ibrahimi also said some individuals among protestors broke the law on Sunday by rioting.  

He repeatedly rejected claims that police opened fire using live rounds and said: “Live ammunition was not used against the demonstrators on Sunday in Kabul.”  

He also stated that no one had been killed in Sunday’s street battle or on Monday in Kabul but that 48 security force members had been wounded.

According to Ibrahimi, Alipoor, also known as Commander Shamsheer, has a group of about 350 illegal-armed men under him and that he is currently being detained by the National Directorate of Security (NDS).

In a question about the killing of 17 Afghan police officers by the Taliban in Farah province Ibrahimi said: “With respect to the 17 police officers killed in Farah, I must say that 21 terrorist groups including Taliban and Haqqani group operate in Afghanistan and want to destroy our people."

Meanwhile, the Army Chief of Staff Gen. Sharif Yaftali also addressed the press conference and called on protestors to avoid harming government and military installations.

He said that torching check posts or disrupting peace is not acceptable and all Afghans must abide by the law. "Resorting to violence is not a positive step. Attacking military and government installations should be avoided."

Yaftali said Kabul belongs to "our great nation, not a specific ethnicity; people here want rule of law, stability and protection. But a suspect and criminal does not belong to any ethnicity whether Pashtun, Tajik or Hazara”.

Supporters of local commander Alipoor have been protesting against his arrest for the past two days. Sunday’s demonstration turned violent however when protesters reportedly started stoning police.

Police in turn were said to have fired into the air in a bid to disperse the crowd. However, some protesters, who were armed, allegedly shot back. Shots could be heard ringing out in the western part of Kabul for hours on Sunday and footage received by TOLOnews showed dozens of protesters running for cover during one shooting incident.

Soon after Alipoor’s arrest on Sunday, his supporters took to the streets in the Dasht-e-Barchi area in Kabul in protest over the NDS’s actions. Supporters in Bamiyan and Balkh provinces soon followed suit.

Supporters have called for his immediate release and claim he is pro-government and has been fighting the Taliban for weeks in at least three provinces.

The angry protesters said Alipoor had been fending off the Taliban in parts of Maidan Wardak, Ghor and Daikundi provinces - under the structure of the local uprising forces.

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