World in brief: Taliban chief urges followers’ sacrifice
Fugitive Taliban chief Mullah Omar pledged to drive foreign troops out of Afghanistan in a statement released Friday, as NATO and Afghan forces killed more than 12 of his fighters in the volatile south.
The purported message from Omar, the authenticity of which could not be immediately confirmed, urged the Taliban to sacrifice their lives and “never submit or accept defeat.”
“I am confident that blood of innocent people and mujahedeen will yield results,” said the statement, timed for the Muslim religious festival of Eid al-Adha. “The enemy will have to quit the region with humiliation and disgrace.”
“Afghans have a history of expelling their enemies as no enemy and invader has quit Afghanistan willingly,” it said.
The message, sent in Pashto language with an accompanying English translation, was received by the Associated Press in Pakistan in an e-mail from Taliban spokesman Mohammed Hanif.
Statements from the Taliban leader – whose whereabouts are a mystery – are periodically issued through Hanif, who claims to speak for the hardline militia.
The latest message comes amid stepped-up attacks this year by the Taliban, particularly in southern Afghanistan, where they have been waging fierce battles with Western and Afghan forces.
Paris
Woman found trapped in elevator
A 19-year-old woman spent three days trapped in the elevator of her suburban Paris apartment building after leaving home to buy a loaf of bread, judicial officials said Friday.
The woman, identified only as Safiatou, disappeared Dec. 19 when she left the Courtille housing project, east of Paris, to go to a local bakery. An elevator repairman discovered the mentally handicapped woman, shivering and dehydrated, on Dec. 22.
According to an official close to the investigation, Safiatou’s father had contacted the building concierge Dec. 19 to say his daughter could be stuck in the elevator. The emergency alarm was never triggered, and the concierge and a repairman heard no sounds from the shaft, judicial officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because an investigation is ongoing.
The technician began repair work on the elevator, which was stuck between floors, the following day. On Dec. 22, the repairman returned to complete the job and heard a soft cry.
He discovered Safiatou, who suffers from psychological problems and has the mental capacity of a 5-year-old, officials said.
On Wednesday, Safiatou’s father, who had advised police of his daughter’s disappearance, filed a complaint for nonassistance to a person in danger – a crime in France.