At 7pm of 30 April 2021, a suicide bomb car was detonated in the city of Pul-e-Alam, in the Logan province, in eastern Afghanistan, killing 30 people and injuring 90 others. The explosion took place near a guest house hosting high school students who had travelled to the capital of the province to take the university entrance exam. As such, a high number of students among the victims was registered, in addition to pro-government militia members.
The attack took place at the eve of 1 May, the date initially set in the agreement between the United States (US) and the Taliban for the withdrawal of the US troops from the country. In light of US President Joe Biden’s announcement of an extension of the withdrawal to 11 September 2021, the Afghan government blamed the Taliban for the attack, seen as a retaliatory measure in response to the failure to withdraw US troops within the agreed date. However, at the time of writing, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Since the beginning of peace talks in Afghanistan, the country has suffered from an increase in attacks to civilians, journalists, and reporters. According to Action on Armed Violence, Afghanistan is the country in the world with the highest number of civilian casualties caused by explosive weapons, most of which are improvised explosive devices. The political instability in the country, exacerbated by the failure of the Taliban and the Afghan government to reach an intra-Afghan peace, despite mediation of the US, endangers the life of civilians. Indeed, the safety of the civilian populations will continue to be at risk until a stable internal peace is reached.
To know more, please visit:
https://aoav.org.uk/2021/explosive-violence-trends-and-patterns-in-afghanistan-2011-2020/
https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/afghans-disappointed-one-year-us-taliban-deal
Author: Carla Leonetti; Editor: Eleonora Gonnelli
