Human Rights Watch on Wednesday declared an attack on a maternity hospital in the Afghan capital Kabul a war crime.
“The attack by unidentified assailants on a hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan on May 12, 2020, shows blatant disregard for civilian life and is an apparent war crime, Human Rights Watch said today. A suicide bombing attack and ensuing gun battles killed at least 13 civilians, including 2 infants, and wounded at least 15. More than 80 patients, including children, were evacuated from the hospital,” the Human Rights Watch in a statement on Wednesday.
No armed group claimed responsibility for the attack on the hospital, whose maternity clinic is supported by the international aid organization Médecins San Frontières (Doctors Without Borders).
The Taliban has denied involvement. The Dasht-e Barchi neighborhood in Kabul, where the hospital is located, is predominantly Shia and has been the location of a number of attacks by Daesh, Tolo News reported.
Former president Hamid Karzai in a statement on the Taliban attack in Paktia on Thursday morning–in which that five civilians were killed–said that fueling the war would have deadly consequences and that the warring sides should expedite efforts for peace.
The recent wave of deadly attacks on civilian targets in Afghanistan were also branded “war crimes” by the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC).
The human rights commission called for justice to be served on the perpetrators who planned and carried out the attacks on the civilian population in the country.
In the last three days, at least 60 civilians have been killed in three attacks in Kabul, Nangarhar and Paktia.
“The attacks on a 100-bed hospital in Dashte-e-Barchi and in Jalalabad fall in the category of major crimes. These are not any incidents to simply forget. The human rights commission will follow the case and will continue its call for justice at the international level,” said Naeem Nazari, the deputy head of the AIHRC.
The deputy head of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, Naeem Nazari, said the increase in civilian casualties is concerning.
“Unfortunately, Taliban attacks, civilian casualties and violence are increasing day by day in Afghanistan. Civilian casualties have been high in Ramadhan regretfully, compared to the previous month,” said Nazari.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday in answer to a question about the attacks in Afghanistan told reporters: “At some point they’re going to have to be able to take care of their country.”
“We’ve been there for many years, we’re like a police force. We’re not fighting in Afghanistan, we’re a police force in Afghanistan and at some point, they’re going to have to be able to take care of their country,” Trump said.