KABUL - The National Security Council (NSC) has ordered the authorities concerned to make public at the earliest the outcome of a pact-finding committee’s investigation into the brutal killings of Afghan Local Police (ALP) personnel in the Jalrez district of central Maidan Wardak province.
About two months ago, insurgents attacked and seized a dozen ALP posts in the Jalrez district, killing and beheading 24 ALP men.
To avenge the killings, Afghan security forces conducted an operation recapturing the posts and killing dozens of militants, including three commanders.
The carnage sparked protests by family members of the victims and civil society groups demanding thorough investigation into negligence by some security officials in dispatching reinforcements to rescue the besieged ALP personnel.
A statement from the Presidential Palace on Wednesday said President Ghani chaired a meeting of the NSC late on Tuesday.
The fact-finding delegation chief presented before the meeting the report of their investigation into the incident.
The NSC issued directives that the martyred ALP personnel should be praised for their patriotism, bravery and heroism and the investigation report be made public as soon as possible, the statement said.
The meeting decided that legal action should be taken against officials who had committed negligence in duty.
The NSC meeting also investigated a UNAMA report about civilian casualties in the Afghanistan conflict this year and expressed concern over the increasing civilian casualties in insurgent attacks.
The council ordered essential measures at preventing civilian casualties in insurgent attacks and launching a campaign to increase awareness among security forces in this regard.
The UN report issued about three weeks ago said civilian casualties in Afghanistan touched a record high in the first half of 2015.
It said ground combat was causing more deaths and injuries than improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in a worrying sign of spreading conflict, adding that the conflict was taking a particularly heavy toll on women and children.
Total casualties between January and June increased one percent compared with the same period last year, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in the report.
The report said 1,592 civilians were killed, a six percent fall over last year, while the number of injured jumped four percent to 3,329. The figures represent an average of nine civilians killed and 18 wounded every day
The UN report held the insurgents responsible for 80 percent of the casualties, the Afghan forces for 15 percent and foreign troops one percent.
But the Taliban have rejected the report.
The Presidential Palace said the NSC meeting was presented reports by security top brass about the country’s overall security situation and progress in ongoing search operations in various parts of the country.
It said as a result of significant coordination among defence and security forces, leaders of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which operates in Afghanistan in the name of Jundullah, were killed in an airstrike in northern Kunduz province along with their fighters.
At the end, the NSC meeting evaluated countrywide threats the enemies of the Afghan people posed.
The meeting praised efforts by the national security forces at improving the security situation and issued directives about dealing with the existing threats. (Pajhwok)