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[ Thursday, 30 July 2009 ]

Taliban calls for Afghan elections boycott, jihad

The Taliban urg Afghans to boycott the 2009 election (Courtesy of Dewy Hysop)
The Taliban urg Afghans to boycott the 2009 election (Courtesy of Dewy Hysop)

Kandahar, AFGHANISTAN (Agencies)

The Taliban demanded Thursday that Afghans boycott the August 20 presidential elections and instead "free their invaded country" through holy war.

In a media statement, the Islamist militia ordered its fighters to block all roads on the eve of Afghanistan's second presidential ballot and stop voters from going to polling stations.

"To achieve real independence instead of going to fake election centers, they must go to jihadi trenches, and through resistance and jihad they must free their invaded country from the invaders," the statement said.

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Enemy centers

United Nations Afghanistan envoy Kai Eide

A surge in attacks by Taliban and other militants battling the government and allied Western troops has raised concerns that insecurity will lead to poor voter turnout and throw the election's legitimacy into doubt.

The Taliban statement called for attacks on "enemy centers," understood to refer mainly to bases of Western and Afghan forces.

The Taliban, however, did not directly order strikes on voting centers, according to an e-mailed copy of the Pashtu-language statement seen by AFP.

Mujahideen (holy fighters) "must launch operations against enemy centers," said the statement signed by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which means the Taliban.

" They must prevent people from attending the elections and one day before the elections all roads and highways must be totally closed to government and civilian vehicles, and they must inform people "
Taliban

"They must prevent people from attending the elections and one day before the elections all roads and highways must be totally closed to government and civilian vehicles, and they must inform people," it said.

The Taliban, who were in government between 1996 and 2001, have previously called for a boycott of the polls, a landmark in the U.S. and NATO-led drive to move Afghanistan towards democracy after decades of war.

Thursday's statement was released two days after the top U.N. official in Afghanistan, Kai Eide, urged the Taliban not to disrupt the elections, acknowledging there were "significant" security concerns.

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Taliban military code

The statement came on the heels of the discovery of the Taliban’s new code of military conduct, which requires fighters avoid killing civilians and limit suicide bombings.

The "Taliban 2009 Rules and Regulations Booklet" is believed to be designed to affirm Mullah Omar as the top Taliban leader and portray the resistance movement as a credible military forces.

The booklet is believed to have been published in May and distributed to fighters. Copies have been seized in operations throughout the country, NATO spokesman Brig. Gen. Eric Tremblay said Wednesday.

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