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In Zawar, the war is far from finished
©Associated Press ZAWAR, Afghanistan -- The nighttime is the worst time in Zawar, near the mountain caves under intense assault by U.S. warplanes. The mountains shudder with each bomb, and the few men still watching over their mud homes cower in fear. All the women and children are gone, sent to safety in Khost, 20 miles away. "We are so afraid, because when the bombs fall the whole mountain shakes," said Zawar villager Eid Mohammed. Elsewhere, Afghans are beginning the task of rebuilding their country after more than 20 years of war. But here, civilians still live in fear of the errant bomb or missile as U.S. planes attack Taliban and al-Qaida forces believed to be hiding in the caves of Zawar. The airstrikes began two weeks ago. Since then, Mohammed has sent his wife and eight children to take refuge in Khost, the region's biggest town. Khalil Jan pointed with a dirt-blackened hand to the place where he tries to find safety: a small bunker burrowed into a hillside and covered with white canvas. "Every night we go there," he said. With the air assaults likely to continue, villagers continued to flee. Villager Noorz Ali spoke as he loaded a pickup truck with his most valued possessions, including a wheelbarrow. Ali said he had no choice but to leave. "I can't stay any longer. My house was destroyed two nights ago." Bombs killed 15 people in his village that night, he said. Others said they have no choice but to stay. "I can't leave. What will I do with my sheep and my cow?" said Mohammed. "I leave and they die. I might as well die, too." A plane roared overhead as he spoke. Another villager, Jan, tried to calm Mohammed. "Don't worry. Not now. They won't bomb now," Jan said. Over the past two fearful weeks, Jan has become a scholar of warplanes. The sound of the engine changes when it is going to drop bombs, he explained, mimicking the noises: A steady roar means there's no reason to worry -- "it's just patrolling" -- but a churning means the plane is diving at a target. He laughed: "You see, we have become experts in plane noises now."
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From the Times wire desk
From the AP |
