Targeted killings increase in Kandahar: Residents

Monitoring Desk

KANDAHAR: A security source said that at least 30 cases of targeted killings have been reported in the southern city of Kandahar in the past two months, adding that such incidents have increased recently.

Some Kandahar residents said that an increase in such incidents has made them concerned, despite that it’s usually against government employees and security forces.

“Armed men are not leaving anyone, whether they are government employees or military men. They are even targeting lower ranking employees of the municipality,” Kandahar resident Abdulbaqi said, “this must stop.”

“The city of Kandahar is not safe. Except traffic police, others are not safe… Soldiers are killed, government employees are killed. The government should safeguard us,” Kandahar resident Khair Mohammad said.

Other residents in Kandahar said such incidents will increase if perpetrators are not arrested.

“These cases happen in the city of Kandahar on an average of one per day. Some days it happens five to six times,” Kandahar resident BismillahWatandost said. “No one is feeling safe here. There is a horror everywhere, even in downtown areas where we think it is safe,” said Sirat Safi, a Kandahar resident.

The provincial governor Hayatullah Hayat admitted that crime and targeted killing cases have increased in the city but added that garrison forces will be deployed to ensure people’s safety. “We will form garrison forces in the near future in order to prevent such incidents and provide for the people’s safety,” the governor said.(TOLOnews)