June 27, 2004

The Taliban and al Qaeda opposition have killed at least ten Afghans for registering to vote for upcoming elections. The armed opposition does not want a democratic vote, but wants to impose a religious dictatorship. The Taliban has the support of perhaps ten percent of the population, mostly among the the Pushtu tribes in the south and east. The murderers had stopped a van driving near the Pakistani border. When examining the men's documents, if was found that ten of the men had registered to vote. The registered voters were killed on the spot. Another six were killed elsewhere. Taliban had been threatening Afghans to not register. Apparently they feel that stronger methods are needed to stop the democratic vote.