Afghanistan: Statement on Attack in Jalalabad

Message of solidarity from EMERGENCY to Save the Children.

EMERGENCY is shocked to learn about this morning’s attack on Save the Children’s office in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. This was an unacceptable act, which put the safety and lives of Save the Children’s operators in the country at risk.

“We are growing increasingly worried about safety and instability. Afghanistan is currently at the centre of an unstoppable vortex of violence. Today, 17 years after the start of a war that has already lasted nearly three times as long as World War II, no part of the country is truly safe. EMERGENCY staff witness episodes of violence every day”, said Rossella Miccio, President of EMERGENCY.

The war in Afghanistan has spared no one: 2,480 children were victims of violence in the first nine months of 2017, with a five percent increase in the number of deaths compared to the same period in 2016. Victims of aerial bombardments have also increased by 52%.

“Humanitarian operators are now embroiled in the fighting. There are no more ‘safe areas’; places that should be respected and protected are now ordinary targets of violence, and the attack on Save The Children’s office demonstrates that guaranteeing medical care to the Afghan population is becoming increasingly more difficult”.