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KABUL: More than 60 civilians were killed in the past three weeks of violence conducted by the Taliban, said a spokesman for the ministry of interior on Tuesday.
Mr. Tariq Arian said that other 164 civilians, including women and children received injuries in the same period of time due to mine explosions and attacks of the Taliban insurgents.
According to the ministry’s statistics, the level of civilian casualties in the first three weeks of the current solar year has increased compared to the same time last year.
Mr. Arian also said that the Taliban had not fulfilled any of their commitments to reduce violence rather had continued to kill civilians and destroy public facilities.
According to Mr. Arian, while the Afghan government has called for a ceasefire on the eve of the holy month of Ramadan, the Taliban group continues to “kill” in defiance of the Ulema fatwa.
The religious Uelma already turned the ongoing Afghan war illegal, calling on the Taliban to immediately cease war.
The Taliban have not commented on the report.
This is as the International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS) asked warring parties in Afghanistan to end violence as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is approaching.
Quoted by Anadolu News Agency, the IUMS Secretary-General Ali al-Qaradaghi in a statement called on the Afghan government and the Taliban to let the Afghan people perform their rituals and prayers during Ramadan without fighting and violence.
“IUMS urges [the warring parties] to achieve a comprehensive and fair reconciliation based on the teachings of the Quran, prophetic principles and references of the Muslim scholars,” al-Qaradaghi said.
He said that IUMS holds the Afghan government and Taliban responsible for maintaining security in Afghanistan as “they are responsible in front of Almighty Allah, so they have to seek the good for the Muslim [Afghan] people.”
Meanwhile, Reid Sirrs, Canada’s ambassador in Kabul, in a message on Ramadan called on all parties to the conflict, especially the Taliban, to end violence.
“We call for an end to target killings of civilians, journalists, women, human rights defenders and others working for peace,” he said.
Deborah Lyons, UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan also in a statement said that “at this special time of prayer and reflection, as well as compassion for the vulnerable, I hope that Ramadan will provide an opportunity for all Afghans to find peace.”
The UN remains committed to the Afghan people in their quest for a peaceful, united and prosperous country, she said.
