Taleban gunmen seem unstoppable as they launch daily attacks and suicide bombings. The assaults this last week killed soldiers in Kabul, men working to clear land mines in Helmand, and a Supreme Court official.
“Targeting civilians for attack is reprehensible and a clear violation of international humanitarian law, amounting to war crimes. It is crucial that those responsible are brought to justice,” said Horia Mosadiq, researcher at Amnesty International.
Amnesty International has been calling on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the situation in Afghanistan for possible war crimes committed by all parties to the conflict.
The organisation is also calling on the United Nations to make sure that the protection of civilians and respect for international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law are high on the agenda in any possible future peace talks with the Taliban, among other human rights priorities.
Fatema Sedaqat of Zanan Kar Aafreen (creating work for women), a non-governmental group says, “The current security situation and lack of coordination among security forces all contribute to people’s anxieties and mistrust in the ability of the government to deliver on promises.” The new government started on a hopeful note, but internal conflicts between President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah – primarily disagreements over cabinet appointments – have forced the president into “dormancy and silence”, she adds.
A strong intelligence network could help prevent suicide attacks but that has failed even in the capital, according to media reports.
Farid, a relative of Atiqullah Rawoofi, head of the Supreme Court secretariat who was shot in front of his house, was not hopeful the security forces would track down his assassins.
On Dec 11, Taleban attacked an auditorium packed with people including schoolchildren watching a drama condemning suicide attacks, killing a German man and injuring 16 people. Last month, Member of Parliament Shukria Barakzai escaped an assassination attempt in Kabul that killed three other people and injured more than 20.
The Taleban, who have claimed responsibility for all the attacks, have threatened to kill not just military and government officials. “Media outlets that are motivating people towards vulgarity” will also be targeted, a spokesman is quoted saying by the media. “The Taleban will continue its attacks targeting foreign invaders and their Afghan slaves,” the spokesman adds.
Rising deaths
Civilian deaths by both Taleban and security forces mounted this year by 24 percent between January and June, according to a UNAMA report. Last week, five Afghan school children were reported killed in a foreign forces air strike in Parwan. ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) confirmed an air strike in the area, but said five insurgents were killed. Civilian deaths in ISAF and US air strikes were a major reason for the strained relations between previous president Hamid Karzai and Washington.
Meanwhile, public anger is mounting against government agencies for failing to deal with the fallout of the attacks even in Kabul. People threw stones at fire engines that reached an hour after the attack on the army bus in the Sherdarwaza area on Dec 13, in which six soldiers were burnt to death and more than 20 injured including passersby.
Even Mohammad Mohaqeq, the second deputy to the chief executive, has blamed the worsening security situation on the vacuum at the top in government ministries.
Shareefa Ferotan of AABRAR (Afghan Amputee Bicyclists for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction) feels the Taleban are “sabotaging the situation” because of the government’s weakness, which is revealed by the failure to announce a cabinet. “The government is not able to work together with acting authorities and it cannot put in practice its authority,” she says.
There is growing suspicion that people in power are sheltering the Taleban and other opponents of the government. Fazel Hadi Muslemyar, chairman of the senate, has called on the government to “identify and dismiss” those who “shelter the terrorists” in order to reduce the insecurity and suicide attacks.
Ali Akbar Jamshidi, another senator, says supporters of armed opponents of the government in the security forces should be “dismissed”. “These are the people that help the armed opponents to get their goals. There is need to remove them from the political field of power in Afghanistan,” he says. A call echoed by senator Mohammad Husain Parwani. “Some individuals shelter the Taleban in their houses and institutions,” he alleges.
Senators Dawood Asas and Mohammad Amin Ahmadi want the “traitors” to be weeded out. “If these people remain on their jobs, Afghanistan would be witness to more terrorist attacks.”
President Ghani and his chief executive have both condemned the attacks.
Call for peace
President Ghani urged all people, especially religious authorities, civil society and human rights activists to jointly fight terrorism. “Peace is a basic need for all people,” he said. He criticised the lack of coordination between the ministries of defence, interior affairs and the intelligence, National Security Department, and proposed the creation of a five-year security plan that includes the establishment of a garrison that will take charge of security in the Afghan capital. The plan for a garrison that coordinates security was a promise made separately by both Ghani and Abdullah.
Follow TKG on Twitter & Facebook
