Afghanistan: UN condemns ‘cynical, cowardly’ attack targeting civilians at a mosque

Offering deep condolences to the victims’ families and a speedy recovery for those injured in the latest attack in Afghanistan targeting civilians, the top United Nations official in the country, Nicholas Haysom, condemned the attack, which targeted people gathered for Iftar at the Grand Mosque in Pul-e-Khomri, in the northern Baghlan province.

According to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), which Mr. Haysom heads, an improvised explosive device planted at the mosque detonated during a Government-planned dinner for 500 people – arranged to distribute oil and rice to the poorest families of the city – wounding more than 40 civilians, many critically.

In a statement issued from Kabul, Mr. Haysom underscored, that an attack deliberately targeting families, colleagues and friends praying together in a mosque “is another horrific example of the conflict in Afghanistan. Such attacks highlight the perpetrators’ intent to destroy lives, and spread terror among the civilian population.”

“The cold statistics of civilian casualties do not adequately capture the horror of the bombs – the torn bodies of children, wives and daughters, sons and fathers.

[They] do not reveal the grieving families and the loss of shocked communities of ordinary Afghans…which are the real consequences of those acts of terror,” he declared.

“This cynical act of terror is a particularly cowardly act. It is an attack bereft of humanity, in violation of national and international law, and is contrary to the precepts and principles of Islam,” Mr. Haysom added.

With more than 100 civilians injured or killed in the past two days, Mr. Haysom reiterated UNAMA’s repeated calls for the immediate cessation of attacks targeting civilians, stressing “The perpetrators of this war crime must be held accountable.”