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On 23 July 2016, a twin bombing occurred in the vicinity of
Deh Mazang Deh Mazang ( prs, ده‌مزنگ), also spelled Demazang or Dih Mazang, is a hillside settlement in west Kabul, Afghanistan, located on the southern side of the Asamayi mountain. It forms part of District 3. Kabul Zoo is located to its south and ...
square in
Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
, capital of
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, when Enlightenment Movement protesters, mostly from the Hazara ethnic group , were marching against a decision to bypass their region in the development of the TUTAP mega power project. At least 97 people were killed and 260 injured. The terrorist group
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
claimed responsibility, however the same group later on refused it. Some Hazara protestors allege that Afghan president
Ashraf Ghani Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai (born 19 May 1949) is an Afghan politician, academic, and economist who served as the president of Afghanistan from September 2014 until August 2021, when his government was overthrown by the Taliban. Born in ...
was behind the attack. They believe that Ashraf Ghani government was abetting the terrorists who were responsible for the attack. They also allege that the government officials were preventing the wounded from being shifted to the hospital. The attack was the deadliest in Kabul since 2001 but was surpassed by a truck bombing in May 2017. Afghan President
Ashraf Ghani Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai (born 19 May 1949) is an Afghan politician, academic, and economist who served as the president of Afghanistan from September 2014 until August 2021, when his government was overthrown by the Taliban. Born in ...
, in a live television address, declared the following day (24 July) a day of national mourning and promised action against the culprits. In tribute to the victims, Ghani renamed the Dehmazang Square, where the attack took place, to ''Enlightenment Martyrs' Square''.


Background

The
Hazaras The Hazaras ( fa, , Həzārə; haz, , Āzərə) are an ethnic group and the principal component of the population of Afghanistan, native to, and primarily residing in the Hazaristan (Hazarajat) region in central Afghanistan and generally scatt ...
are the third largest
ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
of Afghanistan, mostly
Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...
, forming between 19-25% of the Afghan population, which is mostly
Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
. Hazaras have been subject to discrimination and genocides since the establishment of the current Afghan state by Emir
Abdur Rahman Khan Abdur Rahman Khan GCSI (Pashto/Dari: ) (between 1840 and 1844 – 1 October 1901) was Emir of Afghanistan from 1880 to his death in 1901. He is known for uniting the country after years of internal fighting and negotiation of the Durand Line Ag ...
in 1919. The Hazara community has long been persecuted by the
Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
, who came to power in 1996, overall resulting in thousands killed. The TUTAP (
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
-
Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...
-
Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...
-
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
-
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
) is a multimillion-dollar power project backed by the
Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field office ...
and
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
to make electricity accessible to more people in Afghanistan. The project's initial assessment recommended the TUTAP route through the
Bamyan Province Bamyan Province ( prs, ولایت بامیان) also spelled Bamiyan, Bāmīān or Bāmyān is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the central highlands of the Afghanistan. The terrain in Bamyan is mountainous or semi-m ...
, a Hazara populated province in the Central Highlands, but in 2016 the government of Afghanistan re-routed it via
Salang Pass The Salang Pass ( ps, د سالنګ لاره; prs, كتل سالنگ ''Kutal-i Salang'', el. ) is the primary mountain pass connecting northern Afghanistan with Parwan Province, with onward connections to Kabul Province, southern Afghanistan, ...
. The Hazara of Afghanistan protested against the decision to re-route the TUTAP project. The community believed that the decision to re-route was politically motivated and its objective was to bypass some of the most underdeveloped areas which were predominantly occupied by Hazara communities. The civil activists of Kabul created a coordination group, the Enlightenment Movement ( prs, جنبش روشنایی), in early May and called for the government to reverse its decision. The government refused, and marches were held in Kabul and elsewhere around Afghanistan on 16 May 2016. Subsequent negotiations between the protesters and government officials were inconclusive. Therefore, a second peaceful demonstration was organised on 23 July 2016. Thousands of people attended the demonstration on 23 July 2016. It started west of Kabul at around 07:00 and ended at Deh Mazang Square, where the government had placed containers and trucks to stop demonstrators from marching towards the presidential palace. Protesters were planning to make camp here at the end of the protest. Before the march, the government had warned organizers of the possibility of an attack. The government had also blocked the route of the protestors with
shipping container A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated boxes. In the context of ...
s. The
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
(ISIL) is a Syria-based terror group who have committed various attacks against civilians on the Eurasian continent. ISIL's Afghanistan branch is small, based in the country's east near the Pakistani border. In March 2016, Afghan president Ashraf Ghani claimed that the group was 'wiped out of Afghanistan', after the group failed to expand and pose a serious threat to the government.


Bombings

At 14:30, two militants detonated explosive belts when protesters were returning home at the end of the demonstrations. Security agencies claim they had intelligence reports warning about movement of bombers.
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
reported, citing Afghan police, that a third attacker was killed before detonating his bomb, though only two attackers were described in the claim of responsibility.


Reactions


Supranational bodies

*
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
– Secretary General
Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...
and Tadamichi Yamamoto, Special Representative of Secretary-General for Afghanistan and the head of the UN Assistance Mission for Afghanistan (UNAMA) condemned the terror attack on a peaceful demonstration in Kabul, describing the attack a "despicable crime". *
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
- President of the 70th session of the
General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presb ...
Mogens Lykketoft Mogens Lykketoft (; born 9 January 1946) is a Danish politician who served as Leader of the Social Democrats (''Socialdemokraterne'') from 2002 to 2005. He succeeded Poul Nyrup Rasmussen as party leader. After losing the 2005 parliamentary elec ...
also expressed shock at the killings and said that Afghanistan continued to struggle with the very grave consequences of the civil war and
violent extremism Violent extremism is a form of extremism that condones and enacts violence with ideological or deliberate intent, such as religious or political violence. Violent extremist views can manifest in connection with a range of issues, including politics ...
.


Countries

*
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
– Foreign Minister
Mohammad Javad Zarif Mohammad Javad Zarif Khansari ( fa, محمدجواد ظریف خوانساری, Mohammad-Javād Zarīf Khānsāri ; ; born 8 January 1960) is an Iranian career diplomat and academic. He was the foreign minister of Iran from 2013 until 2021 in th ...
condemned the attack and expressed condolences to the Afghan government and people. *
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
– Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi language, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime ...
strongly condemned the attack in Kabul and expressed deep grief over loss of human lives and reiterated solidarity with the government and people of Afghanistan. *
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
– President
Pranab Mukherjee Dr. Pranab Mukherjee (11 December 193531 August 2020) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 13th president of India from 2012 until 2017. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader in the India ...
condemned the perpetrators of the incident and extended condolences to the families whose beloved lost their lives in twin blasts and prayed for recovery of people wounded. *
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
– Foreign Ministry strongly condemned that terrorist attack and wished God's mercy on those who lost their lives. *
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
– White House Press Secretary
Josh Earnest Joshua Ryan Henry Earnest
''

Domestic

*The
Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
, the predominant anti-government group in Afghanistan, denied any involvement in the attack and in a statement posted on their website termed the attack "a plot to ignite civil war". In a rare expression, the Taliban joined the Afghan government in condemning the attack.


Aftermath


United Nations special report on the attack

On 18 October 2016, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) issued a special human rights report "Attack on a Peaceful Demonstration in Kabul, 23 July 2016" following months of its investigation into the attack. In the report, the Mission concluded that the attack on the peaceful demonstration not only deliberately targeted civilians but also was a serious violation of international humanitarian law, which may amount to a war crime. The report reviewed the context of the demonstration, the planning and preparedness of Afghan Security Forces, their behaviour during the demonstration and immediate response to the attack and its aftermath. It also raised, where relevant, human rights concerns for authorities. The report also offered recommendations on the respect for fundamental human rights of all Afghans, including the rights of religious and ethnic communities, as well as the need for the completion and implement of a strategy to prevent violent extremism.


See also

* List of terrorist incidents in July 2016 *
List of Islamist terrorist attacks The following is a list of Islamist terrorist attacks. 1940s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2001-2010 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011-2020 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 ...
*
List of terrorist incidents linked to ISIL The following is a list of major terrorist attacks and arrests that have been connected to or have been claimed in reliable sources to be inspired by the Islamic State (IS), also known by other names. Between June 2014, when the group self-pr ...
* 30 June 2016 Afghanistan bombings * Kabul attack on Canadian Embassy Guards *
Kunduz-Takhar highway hostage crisis On May 31, 2016, Taliban insurgents posing as government officials kidnapped around 220 civilians at a fake checkpoint along the Kunduz-Takhar highway near Arzaq Angor Bagh in Kunduz province, Afghanistan, on the outskirts of the city of Kundu ...
*
Persecution of Hazara people The Hazaras have long been the subjects of persecution by both Afghanistan and Pakistan as well as non-state militant groups. The Hazaras are mostly from Afghanistan, primarily from the central regions of Afghanistan, known as Hazarajat. Si ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kabul 2016-07 bombing 2016 murders in Afghanistan ISIL terrorist incidents in Afghanistan Terrorist incidents in Kabul Terrorist incidents in Afghanistan in 2016 Islamic terrorist incidents in 2016 Massacres of Hazara people Persecution of Hazara people Suicide bombings in Afghanistan Mass murder in 2016 Massacres in 2016 Massacres in Afghanistan 2016 in Kabul July 2016 crimes in Asia Military operations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)