Press Releases:On Tuesday, 13 Jadi 1390 (January 3, 2012), five individuals were killed and 13 others were injured
KABUL, 7 January 2012 On Tuesday, 13 Jadi 1390 (January 3, 2012), five individuals were killed and 13 others were injured when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives in District 1 of Kandahar City. Of the five people killed, four were infants and one was a policeman; ten of the thirteen wounded were also civilians. The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack. Three days later—Friday, 16 Jadi 1390 (January 6, 2012)—six children and one older man were killed in an explosion in the Tori area of TirinKot, the capital city of Uruzgan province. The children had been playing when a device in a nearby trash bin exploded. Four additional children were wounded in the explosion. It is unknown whether the blast was accidental or targeted at the children. AIHRC sends its deepest sympathy and most sincere condolences to the families of the dead, and its best wishes for a quick and complete recovery to the injured and their families. AIHRC considers the killing and wounding of civilians to be a serious breach of both international law and the principles of Islam. All parties to any type of conflict are indisputably and absolutely bound to protect the lives of civilians, regardless of political affiliation, ideology, nationality, or any other characteristic. Given the high percentage of civilians among the dead and wounded, particularly the distressingly high number of children killed, the Kandahar attack of 13 Jadi clearly represents either a deliberate offense against international law or an unacceptable level of so-called “collateral damage.” The TirinKot attack represents either an appalling example of direct targeting of civilians or the tragic result of taking insufficient precautions with weaponry; either case constitutes a clear failure to meet the obligations stipulated by international law. AIHRC therefore expresses its most serious concern, and requests that the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan expend the utmost effort and diligence in investigating these incidents.
AIHRC Pooli Sorkh, Karte-Se, Kabul, Afghanistan Telephone: 020 2500676 Fax: 020 2500677 E-mail: aihrc@aihrc.org.af Site: www.aihrc.org.af |
