Amnesty International calls for voices of victims to be heard

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Ariana: With peace talks poised to start in Doha between Afghanistan and the Taliban, human rights organization Amnesty International has called on both sides to include the voices of victims of the conflict so as to ensure their rights are respected in any deal made. This comes after the United States sanctioned the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, for her continued probe into alleged war crimes by US troops in Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link).

Security Averts Trafficking Of 3 Children to Pakistan

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Khaama Press: Officials stopped three children being trafficked to Pakistan based on an unknown purpose. Hijratullah Akbari a spokesperson to Kunduz police said, the victims were between 10 years of age, they reside in the Charkh-Aab Area of the city. He added, these children were being trafficked to Pakistan while being caught by the police, also they are students of a religious school located in the remote areas of the province. Click here to read more (external link).

Afghan Vice President Saleh ‘Unharmed’ In Deadly Attack On His Convoy In Kabul

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Amrullah Saleh

RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan
September 9, 2020

Afghan First Vice President Amrullah Saleh’s office says he escaped an apparent assassination attempt in the capital early on September 9 “unharmed.”

A bomb was said to have targeted Saleh’s convoy and there are reports of at least two dead and up to 20 injured.

The incident comes with fears that increasing violence in Afghanistan could erode trust and set back planned talks to end the two-decade insurgency against the central government formed after the ousting of the fundamentalist Taliban in late 2001.

“The enemies of Afghanistan and the enemies of our leaders who want to defend this country’s national interests with their lives and souls today again wanted to attack Amrullah Saleh,” Saleh’s spokesman, Rizwan Murad, told RFE/RL. “He survived the attack by the grace of God [and] having the prayers of his people.”

Afghan officials this week postponed a scheduled trip to Doha for long-awaited peace talks with the Taliban because of logistical issues at the venue of the talks in the Qatari capital.

Both sides had indicated that talks could begin soon after they finalized a months-long prisoner exchange last week.

A spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said on September 7 that both sides were making final preparations.

Two Deaths Reported

Details are still emerging of the September 9 attack on Saleh’s motorcade.

An Interior Ministry spokesman said two people were killed and 12 others wounded, but other reports cited higher casualty figures.

At least three of Saleh’s bodyguards are said to be among the injured.

“The blast occurred when the vice president’s convoy was crossing” the scene, Interior Ministry Tariq Arian said.

Reuters quoted Health Ministry officials as saying two bodies and seven injured had been transported to a local hospital.

The delayed intra-Afghan negotiations should follow on a landmark deal signed between the United States and the Taliban in February.

Under the U.S.-Taliban agreement, international forces should withdraw from Afghanistan by May 2021 in exchange for counterterrorism guarantees from the Taliban, which pledged to negotiate a permanent cease-fire and power-sharing deal with the Afghan government.

With reporting by Reuters

Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

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First Ever Ahmad Shah Massoud Day Declared in The United States

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Ahmad Shah Massoud

Massoud Foundation USA: Two days before 9/11 , The National Hero of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Massoud was assassinated by Al-Qaeda operatives sent by Osama Bin Laden – San Diegans honored the late Ahmad Shah Massoud, dubbed the “Afghan Won the Cold War” by the Wall Street Journal. The City of San Diego declared Wednesday, September 9th, both Ahmad Shah Massoud Day, in District 7 and Massoud Foundation Day, city wide, The Massoud Foundation USA announced. Click here to read more (external link).

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Abdullah at Event Honoring Massoud’s Memory Says Talks Imminent

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Dr. Abdullah

Tolo News: Abdullah Abdullah, the chairman of the High Council of National Reconciliation, speaking at an event on Tuesday marking the 19th anniversary of the death of Ahmad Shah Massoud, national hero of Afghanistan, said that the peace negotiation team representing the Afghan is expected to sit for peace talks with the Taliban in the next few days. “InshaAllah, in the next few days, delegations from the two sides are expected to sit outside the country for talks,” said Abdullah. Click here to read more (external link).

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Dozens of Taliban fighters penetrate Panjshir’s Abshar district

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1TV: Around 60 Taliban fighters on Tuesday stormed a region in Afghanistan’s Panjshir, a normally peaceful province in the north of the capital, local officials said. According to the official, the area was surrounded by security forces who were trying to capture the militants. The attack coincides death anniversary of Ahmad Shah Massoud, the anti-Soviet Mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud who was assassinated in 2001. Click here to read more (external link).

Other Security News

Afghanistan war crimes

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The Express Tribune (PK): The United States has penalised the International Criminal Court for investigating war crimes in Afghanistan. In a bizarre but not unpredictable move, Washington has imposed penalties on the Prosecutor of the ICC for investigating crimes committed by US forces in Afghanistan. Sanctioning the officials of the ICC for carrying out their mandated duties would amount to an attack on the international system of criminal justice and indeed an attack on the rule of law. Click here to read more (external link).