UN Mission condemns killing of Afghan civilians in spate of attacks

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) today condemned the killing of at least 18 civilians over the last 24 hours in three separate incidents, and extended condolences to the families of the victims.

On Thursday, the Prosecutor's Office in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif was attacked, and Friday morning, two incidents occurred, the first involving a suicide bomber in Jalalabad city, and the second, a road-side bomb explosion in Ghazni province.

“These incidents highlight once again the tragic reality that it is Afghan civilians who bear the brunt of the reckless use of violence,” said the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA, Nicholas Haysom.

“The killing of civilians and the indiscriminate use of IEDs must cease immediately,” he urged in a statement from UNAMA.

Improvised explosive devices were the second largest cause of civilian casualties in Afghanistan during 2014. International humanitarian law explicitly prohibits the use of weapons whose effects may not be limited and attacks which are not directed at a specific military objective and requires all parties to uphold their legal obligations to at all times avoid harm to civilians.

On 12 April, UNAMA will release its latest figures on civilian casualties in Afghanistan covering the first quarter of 2015.