Afghan Peace Still Tenuous, Incidents Show

The fragile nature of Afghanistan’s peace was evident Saturday as French peacekeepers were fired on, a plot to assassinate the returned former king was uncovered and parents were threatened with death for educating their children.

Still, Afghan refugees continued streaming home by the tens of thousands from camps abroad, perhaps the best indication that many believe that their country is moving away from decades of war.

A French soldier suffered a slight leg injury Friday night when gunmen opened fire on his patrol near the airport in Kabul, said Capt. Serge Khun, spokesman for international peacekeepers responsible for security in the capital.

The four attackers escaped, Khun said.

At Bagram air base, 30 miles north of Kabul, British Royal Marines said Saturday that they had received reports that assassins posing as journalists might try to kill Afghanistan’s former king, Mohammad Zaher Shah, who returned Thursday after nearly three decades of exile in Rome.

No other details were available.

Finally, leaflets threatening death to parents who send their children to school were found in Kandahar, once the spiritual headquarters of the deposed Taliban regime, which restricted education, an Afghan official said Saturday.