Afghan police fire on protesters

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Helmeted police formed a cordon around Kabul University on Tuesday after deadly protests, guarding angry students as they returned to their darkened dorms.

Student protests over a food shortage erupted in violence Monday when police fired on the crowd. As many as four students were killed and dozens injured in the melee, which ended Tuesday when student representatives met with government officials.

It was the first time since U.S. and British bombing ousted the Taliban one year ago that a university protest turned violent. The uprising reflected a general frustration in Kabul over poverty that residents and the government had hoped the international community would ease.

"It's quiet now. The demonstration is over," said police commander Aziz Ahmed.

In a message on state-run television, Afghan President Hamid Karzai offered his sympathies to the families of the slain students, but he urged the others "to remember that a university is a place of education and not violence."