US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad on Tuesday said he condemns Kabul University attack claimed by Daesh added that the “barbaric” attack is not an opportunity for the government and the Taliban “to score points against each other” in the ongoing peace efforts.
Khalilzad added that “there is a common enemy here,” pointing out to Daesh that has claimed responsibility for the attack.
“The terrorist perpetrators are not just against education but are pro-ignorance,” Khalilzad said. “They want to breed chaos and instability, terror and poverty. They oppose and fear peace and seek a permanent state of war.”
“Deny ISIS (Daesh) or any other terrorist the space to carry out these inhumane acts. Unite for peace, find a path to a ceasefire, and accelerate a political settlement. These steps would be the right response to this unspeakable barbarism,” Khalilzad added.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a statement expressed his “deepest sympathies” to the families of Kabul University attack victims and said it is the second attack on a school facility in Kabul in 10 days and is “an assault on the human right to education.”
He said UN stands by the people and the government of Afghanistan in support of their long-held aspirations for peace.
The attack on Kabul University, one of the biggest higher education institutions in the country, ended after six hours when all three attackers were killed, the Interior Affairs Ministry said.
The attack started at around 11:00 am on Monday morning when three attackers entered the university compound and moved towards a training center at Law Faculty that was apparently their main target as security sources put it. The Law Faculty is near the eastern gate of the university from where the attackers entered the compound.
Sources also said that five attackers were involved in the attack.
The Afghan government announced Tuesday a national day of mourning over the attack.
The Presidential Palace said the national will fly at half-mast across the country and at all diplomatic missions around the world.
In a message on the attack, President Ghani said, “the enemies of knowledge and progress continued to terrorize our people and perpetrated a vicious terrorist attack on Kabul University.”
“We convey a clear message to all terrorist groups including Taliban that such acts of terror and atrocity can never deter the resolve of the great Afghan nation for a peaceful, stable and thriving Afghanistan,” Ghani says.
