AFGHANISTAN: Rights body condemns recent attacks on teachers and schools

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

KABUL, 31 Jan 2006 (IRIN) - The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) on Monday condemned recent attacks on educational institutions and called on the government to ensure the safety of teachers, pupils and school premises.

Militants, battling US and government forces have recently launched numerous attacks on schools and teachers. Suspected Taliban guerillas set fire to three primary schools in Nawa district of the southern Helmand province last Saturday. No one was hurt in any of the fires, according to officials.

“AIHRC is greatly concerned about these outrageous acts of terrorists and condemn their attacks on educational institutions,” AIHRC spokesman Ahmad Nader Nadery said.

Teachers and schools, particularly in rural areas, have been an obvious target for insurgent groups who are opposed to girls’ education and wish to disrupt government services.

In December, suspected Taliban gunmen dragged a teacher from his classroom and shot him at the gates of his school after he had ignored warnings to stop teaching boys and girls in a mixed class in the southern province of Helmand.

In a separate attack, also in December, gunmen shot and killed an 18-year-old male student and a guard at another school in Helmand. In Zabul province, also in the south, in another gruesome incident, a teacher was dragged from his home and beheaded last month.

The attacks come at a time when Washington is considering a reduction in its troop presence in Afghanistan from more than 18,000 to 16,500 over the next few months. Nations that make up the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), who have an Afghan peacekeeping force of almost 10,000 on the ground, are due to increase their numbers to 15,000 and take over responsibilities from US forces in restive southern parts of the country.

Insecurity remains a key issue in post-Taliban Afghanistan. Despite the deployment of thousands of US and NATO forces, at least 1,600 people died in conflict-related violence in 2005. Ninety-one US troops died in combat or as a result of accidents in 2005 - more than double the total for 2004.

[ENDS]