Gunmen kill 13 civilians in Afghanistan as donors meet in Kabul

At least 13 Afghan civilians were killed on Saturday in a previously peaceful region in the country’s north as President Ashraf Ghani sought to assure international donors gathered in the capital Kabul that Afghanistan is making progress on promised reforms. The victims, all male passengers and members of the ethnic Hazara minority, were plucked from their minibus vehicles by unknown gunmen and shot dead from close range in Balkh in a rare attack targeting ethnic minorities on Saturday.

The gunmen stopped two vehicles, lined up all the male passengers and shot them dead. They spared the life of one woman who was in one of the vehicles. All the victims were Hazaras.

Jafar Haidari, the governor of Zari district in Balkh, where the incident occurred.

The incident took place as Ghani opened a conference of donors to his country’s reconstruction after almost 40 years of war, urging their support and telling them he has made progress on a range of major challenges including security and corruption. The Taliban denied responsibility for the incident, but it comes as the insurgents are ramping up attacks amid a bitter leadership transition.

Rebuilding Afghanistan is going to be a long-term endeavour. Forty years of conflict have destroyed… a vast amount of material and lives… We need to rebuild the country on a foundation that will yield the prosperity and trade that is Afghanistan’s birthright.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

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