UN report into worst Afghan atrocity implicates security forces

A copy of the report by the UN Department of Safety and Security was obtained by the Associated Press (AP) news agency.

The document said it was unclear how many of the 77 (61 of whom were children) who died were killed by the bomb and how many by shooting afterwards. But according to AP, the report did say, “However, latest reports suggest that gunshots could account for as many as two-thirds of all casualties.

“Regardless of what the exact breakdown of numbers may be, the fact remains that a number of armed men deliberately and indiscriminately fired into a crowd of unarmed civilians that posed no threat to them, causing multiple deaths and injuries.

“It is believed that at least 100 rounds or more were fired into the crowd with a separate group of schoolchildren off to one side of the road bearing the brunt of the onslaught at close range.”