At least 80 people were killed and 231 injured Saturday when suicide
bombers attacked a large demonstration in the Afghan capital of Kabul,
according to the Afghan Interior Ministry.
The demonstration was
organized by ethnic Hazaras demanding that a major regional power line
be rerouted through their impoverished home province. Most Hazaras are
Shiite Muslims but most Afghans are Sunni.
The Islamic State, also
known as ISIS or ISIL, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying in
a statement on its Amaq News Agency that two of its fighters
detonated explosive belts during the march.
Presidential spokesman
Haroon Chakhansuri told the Associated Press that one of the suicide
bombers was shot by the police. He said that three city district police
chiefs on duty at the square were injured and another three security
personnel were killed.
If the Islamic State claim is confirmed, it
would mark the first time the terror organization mounted an attack in
the Afghan capital.
President Ashraf Ghani condemned the blast and declared Sunday a day
of national mourning. โPeaceful demonstrations are the right of every
citizen of Afghanistan and the government will do everything it can to
provide them with security,โ Ghani said in a statement.
Footage on
Afghan television and photographs posted on social media showed a scene
of carnage, with numerous bodies and body parts spread across the
square. Angry demonstrations sealed some of the area around the
square and prevented police and other security forces from entering.
Some threw stones at security forces.
The U.S. State Department issued a statement saying it “condemns in the strongest terms” the “vicious attack.”
“The
killers responsible for this bloodshed do not represent the future for
Afghanistan and will not prevail,” the statement said. “Attacks like
these only strengthen our resolve to continue our mission in Afghanistan
and deepen our support for the people and government there.”
Amnesty
International issued a statement saying the โhorrific attackโ on the
Hazara rally โdemonstrates the utter disregard that armed groups have
for human life.โ
โSuch attacks are a reminder that the conflict in
Afghanistan is not winding down, as some believe, but escalating, with
consequences for the human rights situation in the country that should
alarm us all,โ it quoted Champa Patel, Amnestyโs South Asia director, as
saying.
Violence had been feared at what was the second
demonstration by Hazaras over the power line issue.
The last one in May
attracted tens of thousands of people and shut down the central business
district.
The May march was attended by Hazara political leaders,
who were notable by their absence Saturday. At the height of the march,
demonstrators chanted slogans against Ghani and Chief Executive
Abdullah Abdullah, shouting โdeath to discriminationโ and โall Afghans
are equal.โ
The so-called TUTAP line is backed by the Asian
Development Bank with involvement of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan,
Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The original plan routed the line
through Bamiyan province, in the central highlands, where most of the
countryโs Hazaras live, according to the AP.
The previous Afghan
government changed the route in 2013. Protest leaders have said that the
rerouting was evidence of bias against the Hazara community, which
accounts for up to 15% of Afghanistanโs estimated 30 million people.
They
are considered the poorest of the countryโs ethnic groups, and often
complain of discrimination. Bamiyan is poverty-stricken, though it is
largely peaceful and has potential as a tourist destination.
Fewer
than 40% of the Afghan people are connected to the national grid,
according to the World Bank. Almost 75% of electricity is imported.
