[ALMANAR.LB] Unknown gunnies Saturday killed 13 passengers travelling in two vehicles in the usually tranquil northern Afghan province of Balkh, as President Ashraf Ghani...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. ..
convened an international donor conference in Kabul
...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title
Most Evil Man in the Worldand didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either....
No group immediately grabbed credit for the killings of ethnic Hazara minorities, which come as Taliban snuffies ramp up attacks amid a bitter leadership transition.
"The gunnies stopped two vehicles, lined up all the male passengers and shot them dead," said Jafar Haidari, the governor of Zari district, where the incident occurred.
Afghan president urges sustained support at donor summit"They spared the life of one women who was in one of the vehicles. All the victims were ethnic Hazara minorities."
Abdul Razaq Qaderi, the deputy police chief of Balkh, confirmed the fatalities, adding that officials were investigating the incident.
The killings came as Afghanistan's Caped President Ashraf Ghani implored international donors for their continued support, saying the "maimed country" faced a host of security and economic challenges.
"Rebuilding Afghanistan is going to be a long-term endeavor," Ghani said at a conference of donors in Kabul attended by Western delegates and non-governmental organizations.
"Afghanistan is a maimed country. Widespread unemployment, a violent insurgency, and the advance of extremism across the region are increasing the likelihood that (our) economic reform agenda will be undone by political unrest."