AFGHANISTAN: Afghan Peace Campaign Kicks off with March in Kabul

Dozens of women in the war-torn Afghan capital took part in a march for peace ahead of the traditional new year, calling on the all parties to the conflict to ensure a violence-free year.

The march marked the launch of a three-day civil society peace campaign.

'Peace volunteers who are ordinary Afghans protest for peace today to ask the government and international community that the coming Afghan year should be a violence-free year,' said campaign organizer Zahra Mobtaker.

'Parties to the armed conflict including the government, US forces and the Taliban militants should stop war in Afghanistan,' Mobtakar said. 'We ask them all to not victimize Afghan civilians on their war policies.'

The demonstrators, most of them young, marched through Kabul towards the United Nations offices. They had planned to submit a resolution to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) but were barred from doing so for security reasons, one of the demonstrators said.

'All achievements towards peace over the past 10 years should not be compromised by the current international strategies to bring stability to the country,' the demonstrators said in a statement.

The demonstrators also asked the international community not to leave Afghanistan alone until lasting peace is found or allow the country to become 'a place torn apart by regional interests'.

The peace campaign organisers have also called on the US and NATO forces to stop the killing of civilians in their operations. The issue is a sore point between the government and NATO-led forces.

'We all want to know why after decade of the presence of and war against terrorism by international forces, Afghan civilians are still being killed,' Mobtaker said.

Earlier this month, nine children were among the civilians killed in a US airstrike in the eastern province of Kunar.

UN figures show that last year 2,777 civilians were killed in Afghanistan, the highest number since insurgents from the ousted Taliban regime and international forces began in 2001.

The Taliban and the more than 140,000 NATO and US forces stationed in the country are responsible for civilian casualties.

President Hamid Karzai is to announce the areas for which Afghan forces will take over security responsibilities from international forces on the Afghan new year, which falls on March 21.

Last week, he called on the international troops to stop all operations countrywide, after he saw a one-year old child who had lost his leg in the Kunar airstrike.

Campaign organizers said the second day of the campaign will see candlelight vigil in Kabul for the victims of the war.