NATO force tells Afghans to avoid its convoys

Kabul, Nov 25: Afghanistan's NATO force warned Afghans to keep clear of its convoys today after several incidents in which troops fired at civilians in the mistaken belief they were under attack by suicide bombers.

Violence has surged in Afghanistan this year to its worst level since U S-led forces ousted the Taliban in 2001. As well as hundreds of attacks and ambushes, suicide bombers have struck more than 80 times, mostly at foreign and government troops.

In the lastest incident of mistaken fire, NATO soldiers shot at a van that had been seen ''driving suspiciously'' near a convoy on the outskirts of Kabul on Wednesday. The van crashed and an Afghan doctor was killed.

NATO said today large red signs had been fitted to its vehicles across the country bearing keep-clear warnings in Afghanistan's two official languages -- Dari and Pashto.

''Locals are asked to obey these signs by maintaining a safe distance when near ISAF vehicles, and to also obey any hand signals and verbal warnings given by ISAF troops,'' the force said.

''Failure to adhere to the sign's message and troop warnings may result in ISAF troops opening fire,'' it said.

Today, a suicide car-bomber tried to attack a NATO convoy south of Kabul. Two civilians were wounded. No NATO troops were hurt, the force said.

NATO said in a report last month 142 civilians had been killed in suicide bombings this year. Forty Afghan soldiers and police and 13 foreign troops had been killed.

Suicide bombings were virtually unheard of in Afghanistan before last year when there were 17 such attacks, according to a tally of incidents reported by Reuters.

The new signs on NATO vehicles will be of no use to drivers who can not read. Nearly half of all Afghan men and nearly 80 per cent of Afghan women are illiterate.

Reuters