The UN said rockets and heavy machine gun fire from Afghan Air Force helicopters killed and wounded scores of people during a raid last month. The majority of the victims were children attending a religious ceremony.
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Afghan security forces killed and injured at least 107 civilians in an air raid on a religious ceremony near the northern city of Kunduz last month, the United Nations said in a report on Monday.
The world body said 36 people — most of them children — were killed when Afghan government helicopters targeted them with rockets and heavy machine guns.
The UN launched an investigation into the April 2 incident after villagers in Dashti Archi district of Kunduz said dozens of people, including many children, had been killed in an attack on a religious ceremony.
On the day of the attack, the Afghan Defense Ministry said the air raid killed more than 30 Taliban fighters who had gathered for a military parade. It denied the presence of civilians. But, the following day the provincial governor's office said a few civilians had been among those killed.
The UN mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) was not able to determine if Taliban fighters were present at the time of the attack or not.
"UNAMA is not able to confirm the civilian status of each individual killed or injured, nor is the mission in a position to determine the presence or actions of Taliban leaders or units at the time of the airstrike," it said in its report.
"However, even if the Government had a legitimate military target, UNAMA questions the extent to which the Government undertook steps and concrete measures to prevent civilian casualties."
Seventeen years after the US invasion of Afghanistan, the war-torn country remains in the grip of Islamist violence. A string of deadly attacks in the last year suggests militants are stronger than ever.
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Fragile security
Repeated attacks in Afghanistan in 2018 and 2019 have killed and wounded hundreds of innocent Afghans, and shown the world the fragile and worsening state of security in the conflict-stricken country. The incidents have plunged war-weary Afghan citizens into a state of despair and highlighted the limitations faced by the government in Kabul in ensuring public security.
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A long series of attacks
The violent incidents have made Afghanistan once again a staple of international headlines. Outfits like the Taliban and the "Islamic State" (IS) have claimed responsibility for the attacks. The Afghan government is under heavy pressure to restore security and take back territory controlled by a number of insurgent groups, including the Taliban and IS.
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Spring offensive
In 2018, the Taliban announced the start of their annual spring offensive, dismissing an offer of peace talks by President Ashraf Ghani. The militants, fighting to restore their version of strict Islamic law to Afghanistan, said their campaign was a response to a more aggressive US military strategy adopted in 2017, which aims to force the militants into peace talks.
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Trump's Afghanistan policy
US President Donald Trump unveiled a new strategy for Afghanistan in 2017, vowing to deploy more troops to train and advise Afghan security forces. Trump also pledged to support Afghan troops in their war against the Taliban and maintain US presence in the country for as long as there was a need for it. In 2019, he reversed course and promised a troop pullout.
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Afghan peace process
Despite President Ghani's offer in February 2018 for peace talks "without preconditions," the Taliban had until 2019 shown no interest, dismissing the peace overtures as a "conspiracy."
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Pakistani support
Pakistan has been under pressure from Kabul and Washington to stop offering safe havens to militants blamed for attacks in Afghanistan, a charge Islamabad denies and insists that its influence over the insurgents has been exaggerated. Kabul and Islamabad regularly trade accusations of harboring the other country's militants and the harsh language has underscored the strains between them.
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Role of the warlords
Apart from the Taliban, Afghan warlords exercise massive influence in the country. Last year, Hizb-i-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar returned to Kabul after a 20-year exile to play an active role in Afghan politics. In September 2016, the Afghan government signed a deal with Hekmatyar in the hope that other warlords and militant groups would seek better ties with Kabul.
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An inefficient government
In the midst of an endless battle for power, President Ghani's approval ratings continue to plummet. Rampant corruption in the Afghan government and a long tug-of-war within the US-brokered national unity government has had a negative impact on the government's efforts to eradicate terrorism.
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Strong criticism
Afghanistan's air capabilities have been bolstered over the past year as part of a new strategy developed with US advisors. The Afghan Air Force has been given rocket-equipped helicopters and attack aircraft to take on a resurgent Taliban.
But the UN report underlined the risks of the new strategy.
"A key finding of this report is that the Government used rockets and heavy machinegun fire on a religious gathering, resulting in high numbers of child casualties, raising questions as to the Government's respect of the rules of precaution and proportionality under international humanitarian law," the UN said.
