By Fidel Rahmati in The Khaama Press Online, December 5, 2023
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has announced that Afghanistan has witnessed an increase in violence against Shia and Hazara communities in the past month in the provinces of Kabul, Balkh, and Herat.
UNAMA continues to call for support for individuals at risk.
This comes in response to the recent attack on Shia Muslims in Herat province, which has prompted strong reactions.
It should be noted that four days ago, six individuals, including four men and two women, were killed as a result of gunfire by unidentified armed individuals in Herat.
According to reports, this incident occurred in the Hazara-populated area of “Jibril” in the city of Herat, where all the victims were riding in a rickshaw. Before this, on the 23 of November, two Shia clerics were killed in an armed attack in Herat.
In the past month, dozens of people, including women, were killed and injured in separate attacks on a bus and a sports hall in the Hazara-populated area of “Dasht-e Barchi” in Kabul.
Following the recent attack in Herat, hundreds of people, including women in this province, have protested during the funeral processions of the victims.
The Human Rights Defenders Assembly and Richard Bennett, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan for the United Nations Human Rights Council, have also condemned the attacks on Shia Muslims in Afghanistan.
The Human Rights Defenders Assembly has criticized the lack of restraint in the face of these attacks on Hazaras and Shia Muslims in Afghanistan, who have been subjected to collective and individual assassinations, bombings, and targeted attacks. So far, no individual or group has claimed responsibility for these attacks.
It is worth noting that ISIS had previously claimed responsibility for attacks on religious sites, religious schools, and gatherings of Shia and Hazara communities.
https://www.khaama.com/unama-urges-enhanced-security-measures-for-shia-and-hazara-communities-in-afghanistan/
