Publish dateMonday 18 June 2018 - 10:33
Story Code : 165528
Helmand Peace Convoy Arrives In Kabul
Members of the Helmand Peace Convoy finally arrived in Kabul early Monday morning after having walked for 38 days to get to the capital.
Chanting slogans of “stop the war” and “we want peace”, the activists, who have covered over 700km, entered the city through Company area soon after 8am local time.
The activists, who left Lashkargah city on May 17, started out as a group of eight but as they progressed, more and more people joined them.
They eventually numbered in their dozens by the time they reached Kabul.
Speaking to TOLOnews shortly after their arrival in the city, the peace activists all said they only want peace.
One activist, who was from Balkh province said: "I am calling the young to come and join the peace convoy to call until peace comes to our country."
Another Helmand peace convoy activist said: "The people of Afghanistan have the right to live in peace and get an education. I am calling the people to remain united and stand together and I believe that we will achieve peace.”
Emotions were however running high and as some activists sobbed, they all simply begged for peace.
“We don't want this anymore. The army and Taliban are brothers so why are they fighting?” asked one activist.
Some activists also spoke about the memories of the war that haunt them.
One said: "I witnessed very bad things and I remember when a suicide attack happened in Helmand I was carrying the bodies. We don't want this anymore, we want peace.”
Another activist said: "We are calling on the Taliban to stop the bloodshed. We want peace and even if we lose our lives, we will continue this movement."
The activists are expected to end their journey at either Abdul Rahman Khan mosque in the center of the city or at the Eid Gah mosque near Ghazi stadium.
Members of the peace convoy come from all walks of life, and ages range from 17 to 65. These are laborers, farmers, retired army officers, a polio victim on crutches and many more.
Their whole aim is to spread a message of peace.
Reporting last week from Wardak province, Karim Amini, a TOLOnews reporter, said a 27-year-old man named Mohammad Iaqbal Khaibar had been leading the peace convoy for over a month.
The convoy has traveled through battle-weary Kandahar, Zabul and Ghazni provinces in their bid to reach Kabul.
Source : Afghan Voice Agency(AVA)
https://avapress.com/vdcgxn9q7ak93n4.5jra.html
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