Early in the morning on Wednesday March 29, Pte. Robert Costall was killed during a firefight, about 100 kilometres northwest of Kandahar. This attack took place a day after the Kandahar base, home to more than 2,200 Canadian soldiers, came under mortar attack shortly after 3am on Tuesday March 28.

“This attack on Canadian armed forces in Afghanistan is only the latest in a string of increasing casualties. Pte. Robert Costall was killed because Canadian forces in Afghanistan are occupying the country and are not welcome,” said Shannon Bundock, Co-Chair of Mobilization Against War & Occupation. “The very nature of this mission is aggressive and combative against Afghan people for Canadian and American corporate profits and plundering the resources of Afghan people, so these attacks are not surprising. Not only are there uncounted thousands of Afghan people dead because of this unjust occupation, but it also means the killing of more soldiers, mostly young people, from Canada sent to this war.”

Throughout the last month, there have been increasing attacks on Canadian forces in Afghanistan. Beginning just 48 hours after command of the NATO occupation forces in Southern Afghanistan was handed over to Canadian Brigadier-General David Fraser, Canadian Cpl. Paul James Davis was killed and seven others were injured when their military vehicle “flipped over” during a “routine patrol” in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Attacks on Canadian soldiers continued in the hours and days that followed. In the suicide bomb, roadside bomb, and axe attacks that occurred at least every 24 hours on Thursday March 2nd, Friday March 3rd, Saturday March 4th and Sunday March 5th, two Canadian soldiers were killed, and at least 12 were wounded, some critically.

MAWO Co-Chair Kira Koshelanyk stated: “MAWO has always opposed this occupation and to date we have collected more than 10,000 signatures on from people in Canada demanding Canada remove it’s forces now. We are also calling for an independent public inquiry into Canada’s occupation of Afghanistan to ask the major questions around this for people in Canada. What are Canadian forces doing in Afghanistan? People in Canada are seeing the increasing deaths and attacks and want to know the answer to this and many more questions.”

MAWO’s emergency picket is the fourth in the last month in response to the increased Canadian war drive in Afghanistan. As attacks on Canadian forces increase, people in Canada have become increasingly unsupportive of deploying troops to the region.

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