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Halt Afghan casualties, UN says after 11 killed in govt action
[DAWN] The United Nations...boodling on the grand scale... said on Wednesday it was gravely concerned about reports indicating 11 civilians had been killed in an Afghan security force operation in an eastern province near the border with Pakistain. Civilian casualties in Afghanistan have been increasing, despite attempts by the United States and the Taliban  ...mindless ferocity in a turban...to negotiate an agreement to end the 18-year war. The government’s main security agency, the National Directorate of Security ...the Afghan national intel agency... ’(NDS), said the operation in Paktia province had targeted a Taliban hideout and among the 11 dead turbans were two commanders. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said it was gravely concerned at the killings during a search operation and a human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. team was investigating. "Accountability essential. Harm to civilians must stop," the agency said in a post on Twitter. A politician in the area said the government forces attacked a student gathering over the Eidul Azha holiday. "A university student had invited his classmates for dinner," said Allah Mir Khan Bahramzoi, a provincial council member in Paktia. "Late in the evening, security forces surrounded the house, brought out the victims from the guesthouse and shot them one by one," he said by telephone from the province. The NDS said weapons and ammunition were seized in the raid. "This operation was conducted based on operative information on a Taliban hideout/centre and it left no civilian casualties," the agency said in a statement. Related: UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan: 2019-07-26 Kabul Blasts Death Toll Rises To 11 UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan: 2019-07-23 Eight Civilians Killed In Logar Airstrike UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan: 2019-07-16 Over 590 Civilians Killed In Afghanistan In Three Months Related: Paktia: 2019-08-14 11 Civilians Killed In Special Unit’s Raid In Paktia: Residents Paktia: 2019-08-13 NDS Special Forces kill 2 Taliban leaders and their fighters during a raid in Paktiya Paktia: 2019-08-10 CIA Plans To Keep Proxy Units In Afghanistan: Report Posted by: Fred 2019-08-16 |
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