London, August 28: Amnesty International said Thursday that civilians were at a greater danger in Afghanistan than at any time since the Taliban extremists were ousted from power in 2001.
The London-based human rights group cited Tuesday’s bombing in Kandahar which killed 43 people and Thursday’s clinic siege in the small Sar Hawza district of Paktika province, which borders Pakistan and is a hotbed of Taliban violence.
The Taliban-led insurgency has hit record levels in the build-up to and aftermath of the August presidential elections.
“With the outcome of voting in Afghanistan unclear, the danger and insecurity facing millions of Afghans continues and in fact is higher now than ever,” said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty’s Asia-Pacific director.
“Anti-government groups, including the Taliban, have demonstrated a systematic contempt for the safety of civilians by targeting Afghans who want to establish their future through ballots, not bullets.
“The Afghan government and its international supporters have done much to try to protect Afghans from this threat during the election period but they must also show that they will follow the rule of law themselves and will quickly investigate, and if necessary punish, any violation of the laws of war or human rights violations.”
–AFP