12 August 2017

News Story: Mirza Olang Waiting For Military Action Six Days After Massacre

By Sharif Amiri

Despite six days having passed since the massacre in Mirza Olang valley of Sayyad district of northern Sar-e-Pul province, the security forces have not yet launched military operations to clear the area of insurgents.

The residents of Mirza Olang were blaming the local police and public unrest forces of “negligence” over the massacre in the valley.

The residents of the valley criticized the security forces over their late response to the insurgents’ attacks.

Noor Jahan, a resident of Mirza Olang who lost five of his family members in the Taliban and Daesh insurgents attack, said: “They (security force members) escaped first and left us and we escaped later. They are to blame for the situation we are in. We were attacked (by militants) when we were escaping.”  

“The residents of Mirza Olang lost everything,” said Fatima, another resident of the area.

However, Habibullah Qasemi, a commander of local police in the valley, rejected the claims.

“The enemy’s attack was strong. The check post of the public unrest forces posts had collapsed. The road (to the valley) was about to close,” he said.

Reports said that when Daesh and Taliban attacked the valley, there were only 90 local police and public unrest force members present.

The residents of the valley have appealed to the government to launch a military operation in Mirza Olang to clear the insurgents.

Read the full story at TOLOnews