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KABUL: The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission said that 160 civilians were killed and 351 others maimed in relentless violence since the start of the holy month of Ramadan.
The commission has said in a statement that these civilians suffered casualties in 130 security incidents. The tally doesn’t include the casualties of the deadly attack on a girl school in west of Kabul that left over 60 girl students death and dozens of others wounded.
The commission has expressed its concerns on the unabated level of violence and asked on the UN, U.S. and European Union to conduct a “fact-finding mission into the massacre and unclaimed targeted-attacks on civilians.”
The commission also called for a ceasefire as the violence is on the rise and the intra-Afghan negotiations face deadlocks. “The rate of civilian casualties is alarming; children, men and women are dying up and down the country,” the statement said. The only way to prevent civilian casualties, the commission said is “through a permanent ceasefire.”
The Taliban deny a permanent ceasefire but on Sunday night, the group ordered its fighters to halt violence for three days during the holidays of Eid-al-fitr.
The commission called on the Afghan government to protect the population who are at risk. “The Afghan government is has an obligation to under international humanitarian law to protect the population at risk of war crimes,” the statement said.
The concerns over surge in civilian casualties come as the U.S. is on track to withdraw troop from Afghanistan. President Ashraf Ghani declared Monday as national mourning day to offer condolences to the victims of the two brutal attacks of southeastern Logar province- in which tens of civilians were killed- and as well as the attack on Sayed-ul- Shohada high school that targeted school student- almost all of them girls.
