Afghanistan: Indiscriminate bombing of civilians

At least eight civilians were killed and sixteen others wounded on Monday when two bombs were dropped on central Kabul. The attack caused shock and anger among the local population, which had been spared by recent rocket attacks that mainly affected southern and western districts of the city.

Of particular concern to the ICRC is the fact that the bombing appears to have had no direct military objective. According to local observers, the latest incidents seem to have been in retaliation for heavy losses suffered in the recent fighting. The ICRC reminds the parties to the conflict that targeting civilians for any reason is a violation of the Geneva Conventions.

Elsewhere in Kabul, the number of wounded people taken to hospital on both sides of the front line was unusually high during the past week. In all, 328 war-wounded were reported over that period.