KABUL – Dozens of peace activists, including women, have set up tents inthe Afghan province of Helmand, after a car bomb killed more than a dozenpeople outside a sports stadium last week.

In a rare development, women from the ethnic Pashtun-dominated region beganprotesting alongside men in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah on Tuesday,saying that they would later march to a Taliban-controlled district todemand an end to the war.

“I lost my son in one of these explosions and his family are without anysupport. I am asking the Taliban to accept our demand for peace,” saidKhial Bibi, one of the participants at the women’s tent.

The protest did not involve government officials or politicians and was a“pure people’s movement”, said Qais Hashemi, a male protester.

The car bomb exploded on Friday as a wrestling match ended in Lashkar Gah,killing at least 14 people and wounding at least 47. No group has claimedresponsibility.

The attack underlined the continued threat of violence across much ofAfghanistan with the approach of spring, when fighting tends to pick up.

The Taliban, seeking to restore strict Islamic rule after their 2001 defeatby U.S.-led troops, on Wednesday issued a statement directing theprotesters to march toward U.S. military bases instead and demand that theycease fighting.

Protesters against the Taliban were being exploited by U.S. forces,spokesman Qari Muhammad Yousuf Ahmadi said in the statement on a Talibanwebsite.

“The Islamic Emirate is seriously concerned that the enemy circles willmisuse your name,” the statement said.

“Allah forbid, if something were to happen then responsibility will beplaced squarely on your shoulders because you understand that we are atwar, are facing various enemy plots and will be forced to take serioussteps in pursuit of their neutralization.”

The Taliban control large areas of Helmand, which is the source of much ofAfghanistan’s opium crop. – AGENCIES