"We do not like Taliban but we don't like foreign troops because we're shot by both sides," said Abdul Baqi at Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar, where 15 wounded Afghans were brought Monday after a raid on a meeting of Taliban leaders erupted into a firefight in the middle of the village of Azizi.
"We thought Canadians were our friends," he said.
Canadians were not involved in Monday's action, but few Afghans make a distinction between troops of the various western countries in the U.S.-led coalition.
Afghans feel caught in the middle, said Atta Mohammad, who was wounded in the fighting.
"I'm not concerned with Taliban. I'm not concerned with foreign troops," he said. "Who is responsible for me, that I'm being shot?"
So, while Canadians pump their chests and talk about how much the Afghans like having our troops over there, they need to remember there's a war going on and if bullets from foreign troops are killing innocent Afghans there ought not be any distinction made by the country of origin of the shooter.
Taliban sponsored violence has increased dramatically:
Between January and the end of April, suicide bombings killed 14 coalition and Afghan security forces members and wounded 33 others. The cost to civilians was nearly three times higher - at least 34 Afghans were killed and 93 wounded.
There is no doubt that many Afghans are extremely thankful that their country has been freed from the former Taliban government, but one can definitely appreciate the mixed feelings in the country after living with decades of war with no end in sight.
The Taliban has launched an intense attack this spring that has escalated the conflict to fierce proportions and the Afghans are literally caught in the crossfire. It's unclear how the new NATO mission will help to ease the enormous pressures faced by the people.
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