RASC News Agency: Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, has strongly condemned the barbaric attack on members of the Hazara and Shia communities in the border regions of Daykundi and Ghor provinces. In a press briefing on Friday, September 13, Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, conveyed Mr. Guterres’ profound sympathies to the families of the victims.
Dujarric emphasized Guterres’ warning, stating that continued global neglect of Afghanistan could result in even more devastating events. The Secretary-General also reiterated the imperative of ensuring the protection of civilians under all circumstances. Earlier, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) had similarly condemned the attack and called for a thorough investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice.
On Thursday afternoon, 14 residents of the Sangtakht and Bandar districts in Daikundi were brutally gunned down by armed motorcyclists near the province’s border with Ghor. Six other individuals sustained injuries in the attack. ISIS-K, the Khorasan faction of ISIS, claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that 15 Shia individuals were killed, and six others were wounded. However, numerous social media activists and the Afghanistan Freedom Front have condemned the incident as part of a wider campaign of Hazara persecution, branding it a grave crime and placing the responsibility on the Taliban.
The victims were residents of the village of Qaryodal in the Sangtakht and Bandar district of Daykundi. They had traveled to the Ghor border to greet pilgrims returning from Karbala but were ambushed by unidentified assailants. The bodies of the victims were buried yesterday by local residents in a somber ceremony.
