Alipoor (also known as Commander Shamsheer)
Tolo News: Two weeks after the start of an operation in Behsud district of Maidan Wardak province, security forces have not succeeded in arresting Alipoor, a local commander who is accused of downing an army helicopter last month in which nine people were killed. According to local sources, at least 10 civilians have been killed and wounded in government forces airstrikes in Behsud. Click here to read more (external link).
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
April 4, 2021
Afghan police say that one security force member was killed, and three others were wounded when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb near the capital, Kabul.
The blast occurred at around 8:40 a.m. local time near the Qargha Lake in Paghman district, authorities said on April 4. Police didn’t provide further details.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast.
According to data provided by Tolo News, at least 307 people were killed, and 350 others were wounded in a series of explosions and targeted attacks in Afghanistan in March.
It marked a 20 percent increase in the number of explosions and targeted attacks in the country in March compared to February, the Afghan news agency said.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan recorded a total of 3,035 civilians killed and 5,785 wounded in the Afghan conflict last year.
Based on reporting by Tolo News, Ariananews.af, and dpa
Tolo News: The Ministry of Public Health on Sunday reported 41 new positive cases of COVID-19 out of 1,692 samples tested in the last 24 hours. The ministry reported that the cumulative total of known COVID-19 cases is 56,717, the total number of reported deaths is 2,508, and the total number of recoveries is 51,865. Click here to read more (external link).
Bensouda
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
April 3, 2021
The United States has lifted sanctions on senior members of the International Criminal Court (ICC), including a prosecutor who had launched an investigation into alleged war crimes by U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the move in a statement on April 2, saying the department had decided sanctions were “inappropriate and ineffective.”
The sanctions targeted prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and other court staff, imposing asset freezes and travel bans on them.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last year accused the Hague-based ICC of infringing on U.S. national sovereignty when it authorized an investigation into war crimes allegedly committed by Afghan forces, the Taliban, or U.S. troops.
The court further irritated the United States by opening an investigation into alleged war crimes by Israel in the Palestinian territories.
Blinken said despite the announcement the United States continues to “disagree strongly with the ICC’s actions relating to the Afghanistan and Palestinian situations” and objects to ICC efforts to assert jurisdiction over the United States and Israel, which are not members of the court.
But he said Washington believes its concerns “would be better addressed through engagement with all stakeholders in the ICC process rather than through the imposition of sanctions.”
The court welcomed the U.S. move, saying it would contribute to strengthening its work.
Silvia Fernandez de Gurmendi, head of the Association of States Parties to the ICC, said in a statement the ICC had “always welcomed the participation” of the United States in achieving justice for war crimes despite the U.S. decision not to ratify its founding Rome Statute in 1998.
“I trust this decision signals the start of a new phase of our common undertaking to fight against impunity for these crimes,” she added.
Fernandez said the U.S. decision came at a “fundamental juncture” amid reforms at the court, which has come under scrutiny over internal matters such as judges’ salaries.
Blinken said he was encouraged by the reforms.
Bensouda is leaving her job in June and will be replaced by British human rights lawyer Karim Khan.
Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP
Hamdullah Mohib
1TV: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani will not be a candidate in early election he proposed as part of peace with the Taliban, National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib said on Saturday. Mohib, who was speaking in a press conference, suggested that the election could happen within three or six months. Click here to read more (external link).
Related
Tolo News: The Ariana volleyball club from Afghan refugees in Iran won the title for the 15th Women’s Volleyball Championship in a thrilling match against Herat’s team in Kabul on Friday. The match ended 3-2 in Ariana’s favor. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News: The Ministry of Public Health on Saturday reported 81 new positive cases of COVID-19 out of 1,120 samples tested in the last 24 hours. The ministry reported that the cumulative total of known COVID-19 cases is 56,676, the total number of reported deaths is 2,497, and the total number of recoveries is 51,802. Click here to read more (external link).
Hekmatyar (left) and Ghani (right)
Tolo News: Hizb-e-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar at a rally of his supporters in Kabul on Friday asked President Ashraf Ghani to resign over what they described as the Afghan leader’s “deliberate attempt” to disrupt the peace process and his “failure” to fix the ongoing fragile security situation. Hekmatyar, who addressed his supporters from an armored booth, said that those at the Presidential Palace are trying to disrupt the peace process. Click here to read more (external link).