2010 Badakhshan massacre
Encyclopedia
On the 5th of August 2010, ten members of International Assistance Mission
Nuristan Eye Camp team were killed in Kuran wa Munjan District
of Badakhshan Province
in Afghanistan
.
The team was attacked as it was returning from Nuristan to Kabul. One team member was spared, the rest of the team were killed immediately. Those killed were six Americans, two Afghans, one Briton and one German.
The identity of the attackers is unknown. When news of the killings broke, both Hizb-e Islami and the Taliban initially claimed responsibility for the attack, accusing the doctors of proselytism and spying.
These claims were later refuted by Taliban leaders in Nuristan and Badakhshan, who stated that they had confirmed the dead were bona-fide aid workers, condemned the killings as murder, and offered their condolences to the families of those killed.
The attack was the deadliest strike against foreign aid workers in the Afghanistan war. The killings underscored the suspicion Christian-affiliated groups face from some Afghans and government opponents and the wider risks faced by aid workers in the country.
and is inhabited by mostly Tajik people. It is one of the few provinces in Afghanistan which was not controlled by the Taliban when it was in power. After coming under increasing pressure by NATO forces in southern Afghanistan the Taliban have become active in areas like Badakhshan Province which were previously calm. In addition they have started using women and children as suicide bombers and targeted tribal elders, things they formerly considered taboo. Foreign aid workers have been attacked in the past but these attacks have been relatively infrequent and Taliban has allowed some aid workers in the areas they controlled. Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission
stated that civilian deaths were up five percent in 2010 and Taliban was responsible for 68% of the 1325 deaths till August 8, 2010 and NATO was responsible for 28%. International Assistance Mission is a Christian organization that has worked in Afghanistan since 1966. They have denied proselytizing, as for non-Muslims it is against the law of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. According to critics propagandists of the Taliban insurgency
portray their drive for power as a defense of Islam. The victims of the massacre had indeed been sponsored by a Christian charity, but that organization worked in Afghanistan since 1966, under a monarchy, a communist regime, warlords, and under the Taliban; its aid workers were said to understand the Afghan customs and sensibilities and have scrupulously obeyed prohibitions against proselytizing. None of the Christian non-profit's workers had ever been killed while on duty with the organisation.
The publicity on the massacre and its aftermath coincided with the publication of the 2010 Mid-Year Report on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), in which worries were expressed about the rising number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan and that was directly followed by an advice of human rights organisation Amnesty International
that the Taliban should be prosecuted for war crimes. According to the UNAMA report, the tactics of the Taliban and other Anti-Government Elements (AGEs) were behind a 31 per cent increase in conflict-related civilian casualties in the first six months of 2010 compared with the same period in 2009. Casualties attributed to Pro-Government Forces (PGF) fell 30 per cent during the same period, driven by a 64 per cent decline in deaths and injuries caused by aerial attacks. Many Afghans blame the international forces for the civilian deaths, "stirring up greater violence by fomenting new recruits for the Taliban, for arming militias in the countryside, and for propping up warlords and corrupt Afghan officials".
. When the bodies were recovered, the victims appeared to have been robbed. The two Afghans killed worked as a watchman and a cook. The bodies of the victims were flown back to Kabul on August 8, 2010. The foreigners killed were all unpaid volunteers.
, United States, and an Indiana Wesleyan University
graduate; she had been in Afghanistan for six years and specialized in nutritional gardening and mother-child health.
, Germany.
, United States.
, United States, and a worker from Global Dental Relief.
Grams had been working with the group for many years and had made multiple trips to Afghanistan and Nepal
providing dental care to poor children. He had previously been in private practice but gave this up to work with the poor.
, Afghanistan, who also helped with the dispensing of eyeglasses.
, United States.
Lapp was a medical volunteer with the Mennonite Central Committee
(MCC) and the International Assistance Mission
(IAM) from Lancaster, Pennsylvania
. He had trained as a nurse, but worked as the manager of the International Assistance Mission's provincial Ophthalmology
program, as well as an executive assistant of the IAM in Afghanistan. (The International Assistance Mission is a partner with the Mennonite Central Committee.) Lapp had worked for the IAM in Afghanistan for two years. An alumnus of Johns Hopkins University
and Eastern Mennonite University
, Lapp had previously worked as a nurse in New York City
, Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Supai, Arizona
. Additionally, Lapp assisted the MCC in the weeks following Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita
. Lapp also worked as a realtor and attended the Community Mennonite Church of Lancaster, where news of his death was first announced on August 8, 2010.
, United States, and the team leader.
He had worked in Afghanistan for more than three decades and spoke Dari fluently. He moved to Afghanistan in the late seventies and raised his three daughters there.
Dr Tom Little was posthumously awarded the 2010 International Optometrist of the Year by the World Council of Optometrists, and the 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom.
, Hertfordshire
, UK. Woo was the daughter of a Chinese father and English mother. By her late teens, she had become a professional dancer and subsequently performed stunts as a wing-walker for a flying circus. After returning to university, she became a surgeon and trained at St Mary's Hospital, London. She left a lucrative position with Bupa
(a healthcare organisation) in England to work with the poor people of Afghanistan. Woo was engaged to be married in two weeks. Afghanistan has one of the highest infant mortality
rates in the world and her work involved helping pregnant women. Her family stated that Woo "although very spiritual, she did not really believe in organised religion" and that her motivations were purely humanitarian.
stated that the victims had in their possession Bible
s which had been translated into the local language Dari. However, also another group was mentioned, the Hizb-i-Islami (HIA) of war lord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
.
Earlier claims of the Taliban were refuted by Qari Malang, the representative of the Western Nuristan Taliban. He said that commanders from Nuristan had not carried out the killings and they had launched an investigation to find out who had. “We shall inform you of the results when it is concluded. We regret these killings and strongly assert that this is not the work of the Taliban who will never do harm to genuine aid workers… as soon as we manage to apprehend those responsible for this act, we shall subject them to whatever punishment our laws prescribe.”
Dirk Frans, executive director of the International Assistance Mission (IAM) in Kabul, doubted whether the local Taliban were behind the attack, in contrast to a statement by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton which directly blamed the Taliban for what she described as a "despicable act of wanton violence.". In her reaction on August 8, 2010, she stated: "We condemn in the strongest possible terms this senseless act. We also condemn the Taliban’s transparent attempt to justify the unjustifiable by making false accusations about their activities in Afghanistan. Terror has no religion (...), they have shown us yet another example of the lengths to which they will go to advance their twisted ideology."
have confirmed that they were bona fide aid workers and had been providing assistance to
the population. Furthermore, we have learnt that among the killed foreigners, was Dan
Terry, who had a long history of helping our people, including in Kunar and Laghman
provinces and that he had previously provided welfare assistance to the families of those
civilians martyred in bombardments… We pass on our condolences to the families of
those killed.”
After the massacre International Assistance Mission stated that they had no plans to leave Afghanistan. US Federal Bureau of Investigation
has opened an investigation into the attacks according a spokesman from US embassy.
Former Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah
who is a physician himself and trained with Tom Little deplored the killings and called the attackers "enemies of the Afghan people."
United Nations
Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon
, who emphasized that “health workers must have access to treat those in need and must be able to do so without fear.” His Special Representative Staffan de Mistura
said "The United Nations condemns this serious crime and apparent cold-blooded execution."
Australian foreign minister Stephen Smith
issued a statement condemning the attack and offered condolences to the victims' families. British foreign secretary William Hague
condemned the attack and stated "This is a deplorable and cowardly act which is against the interests of the people of Afghanistan who depended on the services she [Karen Woo] was bravely helping to provide." United States Secretary of State
Hillary Rodham Clinton
condemned the killings, calling them "despicable acts of wanton violence." (see above) Karl Eikenberry
, the current United States Ambassador to Afghanistan
, speaking to Afghan people said, "Their murder demonstrates the absolute disregard that terrorist-inspired Taliban and other insurgents have for your health, have for your security and have for your opportunity, They don't care about your future. They only care about themselves and their own ideology." US special envoy Richard Holbrooke
stated the killers do not represent average Afghans, most of whom were shocked by these killings.
International Assistance Mission
The International Assistance Mission is a non-profit Christian development Non Government Organization working in Afghanistan since 1966. IAM runs projects in medicine, engineering, languages, small business and community development...
Nuristan Eye Camp team were killed in Kuran wa Munjan District
Kuran wa Munjan District
Kuran wa Munjan District is one of the 29 districts of Badakhshan Province in eastern Afghanistan. Located in the Hindu Kush mountains, the district is home to approximately 8,000 residents. The district capital is Kuran wa Munjan....
of Badakhshan Province
Badakhshan Province
Badakhshan is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, consisting of 28 districts. It is located in the north-east of the country, between the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya. It is part of the Badakhshan region.-Geography:...
in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
.
The team was attacked as it was returning from Nuristan to Kabul. One team member was spared, the rest of the team were killed immediately. Those killed were six Americans, two Afghans, one Briton and one German.
The identity of the attackers is unknown. When news of the killings broke, both Hizb-e Islami and the Taliban initially claimed responsibility for the attack, accusing the doctors of proselytism and spying.
These claims were later refuted by Taliban leaders in Nuristan and Badakhshan, who stated that they had confirmed the dead were bona-fide aid workers, condemned the killings as murder, and offered their condolences to the families of those killed.
The attack was the deadliest strike against foreign aid workers in the Afghanistan war. The killings underscored the suspicion Christian-affiliated groups face from some Afghans and government opponents and the wider risks faced by aid workers in the country.
Background and context
Badakhshan province borders TajikistanTajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
and is inhabited by mostly Tajik people. It is one of the few provinces in Afghanistan which was not controlled by the Taliban when it was in power. After coming under increasing pressure by NATO forces in southern Afghanistan the Taliban have become active in areas like Badakhshan Province which were previously calm. In addition they have started using women and children as suicide bombers and targeted tribal elders, things they formerly considered taboo. Foreign aid workers have been attacked in the past but these attacks have been relatively infrequent and Taliban has allowed some aid workers in the areas they controlled. Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission
Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission
The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission is an Afghan organisation dedicated to the preservation of human rights and the investigation of human rights abuses....
stated that civilian deaths were up five percent in 2010 and Taliban was responsible for 68% of the 1325 deaths till August 8, 2010 and NATO was responsible for 28%. International Assistance Mission is a Christian organization that has worked in Afghanistan since 1966. They have denied proselytizing, as for non-Muslims it is against the law of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. According to critics propagandists of the Taliban insurgency
Taliban insurgency
The Taliban insurgency took root shortly after the group's fall from power following the 2001 war in Afghanistan. The Taliban continue to attack Afghan, U.S., and other ISAF troops and many terrorist incidents attributable to them have been registered. The war has also spread over the southern and...
portray their drive for power as a defense of Islam. The victims of the massacre had indeed been sponsored by a Christian charity, but that organization worked in Afghanistan since 1966, under a monarchy, a communist regime, warlords, and under the Taliban; its aid workers were said to understand the Afghan customs and sensibilities and have scrupulously obeyed prohibitions against proselytizing. None of the Christian non-profit's workers had ever been killed while on duty with the organisation.
The publicity on the massacre and its aftermath coincided with the publication of the 2010 Mid-Year Report on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), in which worries were expressed about the rising number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan and that was directly followed by an advice of human rights organisation Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
that the Taliban should be prosecuted for war crimes. According to the UNAMA report, the tactics of the Taliban and other Anti-Government Elements (AGEs) were behind a 31 per cent increase in conflict-related civilian casualties in the first six months of 2010 compared with the same period in 2009. Casualties attributed to Pro-Government Forces (PGF) fell 30 per cent during the same period, driven by a 64 per cent decline in deaths and injuries caused by aerial attacks. Many Afghans blame the international forces for the civilian deaths, "stirring up greater violence by fomenting new recruits for the Taliban, for arming militias in the countryside, and for propping up warlords and corrupt Afghan officials".
Ambush
The team, which included a doctor, a dentist and an optometrist, was returning to Kabul after providing eye care to villagers in Parun valley in Nuristan Province, south of Badakhshan Province in Northeast Afghanistan. They had been running an eye camp in Nuristan, for which they had received permission from the Afghan government. They had chosen to travel through a forest in Badakhshan as this was considered a safer route back to Kabul. The team was attacked when they stopped after fording a river. They were killed immediately, without any negotiation. One Afghan driver was spared after he started chanting verses from the Qur'anQur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
. When the bodies were recovered, the victims appeared to have been robbed. The two Afghans killed worked as a watchman and a cook. The bodies of the victims were flown back to Kabul on August 8, 2010. The foreigners killed were all unpaid volunteers.
Cheryl Beckett
Cheryl Beckett (32) was an aid worker and translator, from Knoxville, TennesseeKnoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, United States, and an Indiana Wesleyan University
Indiana Wesleyan University
Indiana Wesleyan University is a private, evangelical Christian, liberal arts university located in Marion, Indiana that is affiliated with the Wesleyan Church denomination...
graduate; she had been in Afghanistan for six years and specialized in nutritional gardening and mother-child health.
Daniela Beyer
Daniela Beyer (35) was a linguist and translator in German, English and Russian who also spoke Dari and was learning Pashto; from Chemnitz-WittgensdorfChemnitz
Chemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...
, Germany.
Brian Carderelli
Brian Carderelli (25) was the videographer for the team, from Harrisonburg, VirginiaHarrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg is an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia in the United States. Its population as of 2010 is 48,914, and at the 2000 census, 40,468. Harrisonburg is the county seat of Rockingham County and the core city of the Harrisonburg, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical...
, United States.
Thomas Grams
Thomas Grams (51) was a dentist from Durango, ColoradoDurango, Colorado
The City of Durango is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of La Plata County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau said that the city population was 16,887 in 2010 census.-History:...
, United States, and a worker from Global Dental Relief.
Grams had been working with the group for many years and had made multiple trips to Afghanistan and Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
providing dental care to poor children. He had previously been in private practice but gave this up to work with the poor.
Jawed
Jawed (24) was the team's cook, from PanjshirPanjshir Province
Panjshir is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Containing the Panjshir Valley, in April 2004 it was created from parts of Parwan Province, which now lies along its southwestern border. Panjshir's population is about 139,000 and covers an area of 3,610 square kilometers...
, Afghanistan, who also helped with the dispensing of eyeglasses.
Glen D. Lapp
Glen D. Lapp (40) was a nurse and executive assistant from Lancaster, PennsylvaniaLancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster is a city in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Lancaster County and one of the older inland cities in the United States, . With a population of 59,322, it ranks eighth in population among Pennsylvania's cities...
, United States.
Lapp was a medical volunteer with the Mennonite Central Committee
Mennonite Central Committee
The Mennonite Central Committee is a relief, service, and peace agency representing 15 Mennonite, Brethren in Christ and Amish bodies in North America. The U.S. headquarters are in Akron, Pennsylvania, the Canadian in Winnipeg, Manitoba.-History:...
(MCC) and the International Assistance Mission
International Assistance Mission
The International Assistance Mission is a non-profit Christian development Non Government Organization working in Afghanistan since 1966. IAM runs projects in medicine, engineering, languages, small business and community development...
(IAM) from Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster is a city in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Lancaster County and one of the older inland cities in the United States, . With a population of 59,322, it ranks eighth in population among Pennsylvania's cities...
. He had trained as a nurse, but worked as the manager of the International Assistance Mission's provincial Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye. An ophthalmologist is a specialist in medical and surgical eye problems...
program, as well as an executive assistant of the IAM in Afghanistan. (The International Assistance Mission is a partner with the Mennonite Central Committee.) Lapp had worked for the IAM in Afghanistan for two years. An alumnus of Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
and Eastern Mennonite University
Eastern Mennonite University
Eastern Mennonite University is a private liberal arts university in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, affiliated with one of the historic peace churches, the Mennonite Church USA. Its main campus is on the edge of the small city of Harrisonburg, Virginia, about three miles from state-owned...
, Lapp had previously worked as a nurse in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Supai, Arizona
Supai, Arizona
Supai is a census-designated place in Coconino County, Arizona, United States, within the Grand Canyon.As of the 1990 census, the CDP had a population of 423; the 2000 census erroneously recorded a population of 0...
. Additionally, Lapp assisted the MCC in the weeks following Hurricanes Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
and Rita
Hurricane Rita
Hurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Rita caused $11.3 billion in damage on the U.S. Gulf Coast in September 2005...
. Lapp also worked as a realtor and attended the Community Mennonite Church of Lancaster, where news of his death was first announced on August 8, 2010.
Tom Little
Tom Little (62) was an optometrist from Delmar, New YorkDelmar, New York
Delmar is a hamlet in the town of Bethlehem, Albany County, New York. A census-designated place has been established since 1980 by the US Bureau of Census for tabulating the population of what the census has defined as the boundaries of the urbanized area in and around Delmar. The population was...
, United States, and the team leader.
He had worked in Afghanistan for more than three decades and spoke Dari fluently. He moved to Afghanistan in the late seventies and raised his three daughters there.
Dr Tom Little was posthumously awarded the 2010 International Optometrist of the Year by the World Council of Optometrists, and the 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Dan Terry
Dan Terry (63) was from Wisconsin, United States, who served as liaison with local communities, aid organizations, and the government; he had performed relief work in Afghanistan since 1971, following in his father's footsteps who had worked for IAM as the Executive Director.Karen Woo
Karen Woo (36) was a general surgeon from StevenageStevenage
Stevenage is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England. It is situated to the east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1, and is between Letchworth Garden City to the north, and Welwyn Garden City to the south....
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, UK. Woo was the daughter of a Chinese father and English mother. By her late teens, she had become a professional dancer and subsequently performed stunts as a wing-walker for a flying circus. After returning to university, she became a surgeon and trained at St Mary's Hospital, London. She left a lucrative position with Bupa
Bupa
Bupa is a large British healthcare organisation, with bases on three continents and more than ten million customers in over 200 countries. It is a private healthcare company, in direct contrast to the UK's National Health Services, which are tax-funded healthcare systems and do not require private...
(a healthcare organisation) in England to work with the poor people of Afghanistan. Woo was engaged to be married in two weeks. Afghanistan has one of the highest infant mortality
Infant mortality
Infant mortality is defined as the number of infant deaths per 1000 live births. Traditionally, the most common cause worldwide was dehydration from diarrhea. However, the spreading information about Oral Re-hydration Solution to mothers around the world has decreased the rate of children dying...
rates in the world and her work involved helping pregnant women. Her family stated that Woo "although very spiritual, she did not really believe in organised religion" and that her motivations were purely humanitarian.
Survivors
The only two survivors of the eye camp team were Said Yasin and Safiullah, both Afghan. Said Yasin had left the team several days earlier and returned to Kabul by another route, whereas Safiullah was spared after reciting verses from the Koran.Responsibility
The local officials initially stated that the motive was robbery, but after interviewing witnesses they changed their view and said that Taliban was responsible. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahaden claimed responsibility for the attacks and accused the victims of being "American spies" and "proselytizing Christianity". Taliban spokesman Zabiullah MujahidZabiullah Mujahid
Zabiullah Mujahid is one of the self proclaimed spokesmen for the Taliban who is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan. He has acted as a media conduit between the isolationist rebel forces and Western media teams. He was interviewed with his back towards the TV camera in early 2009 by CNN reporter...
stated that the victims had in their possession Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
s which had been translated into the local language Dari. However, also another group was mentioned, the Hizb-i-Islami (HIA) of war lord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is an Afghan Mujahideen leader who is the founder and leader of the Hezb-e Islami political party and paramilitary group. Hekmatyar was a rebel military commander during the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan and was one of the key figures in the civil war that followed the...
.
Earlier claims of the Taliban were refuted by Qari Malang, the representative of the Western Nuristan Taliban. He said that commanders from Nuristan had not carried out the killings and they had launched an investigation to find out who had. “We shall inform you of the results when it is concluded. We regret these killings and strongly assert that this is not the work of the Taliban who will never do harm to genuine aid workers… as soon as we manage to apprehend those responsible for this act, we shall subject them to whatever punishment our laws prescribe.”
Dirk Frans, executive director of the International Assistance Mission (IAM) in Kabul, doubted whether the local Taliban were behind the attack, in contrast to a statement by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton which directly blamed the Taliban for what she described as a "despicable act of wanton violence.". In her reaction on August 8, 2010, she stated: "We condemn in the strongest possible terms this senseless act. We also condemn the Taliban’s transparent attempt to justify the unjustifiable by making false accusations about their activities in Afghanistan. Terror has no religion (...), they have shown us yet another example of the lengths to which they will go to advance their twisted ideology."
Reactions
In the weeks following the attack a senior Taliban leader, Qari Malang (the representative of the Western Nuristan Taliban) stated “We have checked the facts regarding these foreigners, and our people in the areahave confirmed that they were bona fide aid workers and had been providing assistance to
the population. Furthermore, we have learnt that among the killed foreigners, was Dan
Terry, who had a long history of helping our people, including in Kunar and Laghman
provinces and that he had previously provided welfare assistance to the families of those
civilians martyred in bombardments… We pass on our condolences to the families of
those killed.”
After the massacre International Assistance Mission stated that they had no plans to leave Afghanistan. US Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
has opened an investigation into the attacks according a spokesman from US embassy.
Former Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah
Abdullah Abdullah
Abdullah Abdullah is an Afghan politician and a doctor of medicine. He was an adviser and friend to Ahmad Shah Massoud, legendary anti-Taliban leader and commander known as the "Lion of Panjshir". After the fall of the Taliban regime, Dr. Abdullah served as Afghanistan's Foreign Minister from 2001...
who is a physician himself and trained with Tom Little deplored the killings and called the attackers "enemies of the Afghan people."
United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Secretary-General
Secretary-General
-International intergovernmental organizations:-International nongovernmental organizations:-Sports governing bodies:...
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon is the eighth and current Secretary-General of the United Nations, after succeeding Kofi Annan in 2007. Before going on to be Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he...
, who emphasized that “health workers must have access to treat those in need and must be able to do so without fear.” His Special Representative Staffan de Mistura
Staffan de Mistura
Staffan de Mistura is a long-serving Italian-Swedish diplomat. After a 36 year career in various UN agencies, United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon appointed him as his Special Representative for Iraq on 11 September 2007...
said "The United Nations condemns this serious crime and apparent cold-blooded execution."
Australian foreign minister Stephen Smith
Stephen Smith (Australian politician)
Stephen Francis Smith , is the Australian Minister for Defence. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since March 1993, representing the Division of Perth, Western Australia....
issued a statement condemning the attack and offered condolences to the victims' families. British foreign secretary William Hague
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
condemned the attack and stated "This is a deplorable and cowardly act which is against the interests of the people of Afghanistan who depended on the services she [Karen Woo] was bravely helping to provide." United States Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
condemned the killings, calling them "despicable acts of wanton violence." (see above) Karl Eikenberry
Karl Eikenberry
Karl Winfrid Eikenberry is a retired United States Army Lieutenant General and former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan.-Education:Eikenberry graduated from Goldsboro High School in Goldsboro, North Carolina in 1969 and then attended West Point, where he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant upon...
, the current United States Ambassador to Afghanistan
United States Ambassador to Afghanistan
The United States Ambassador to Afghanistan is the official representative of the President of the United States to the head of state of Afghanistan....
, speaking to Afghan people said, "Their murder demonstrates the absolute disregard that terrorist-inspired Taliban and other insurgents have for your health, have for your security and have for your opportunity, They don't care about your future. They only care about themselves and their own ideology." US special envoy Richard Holbrooke
Richard Holbrooke
Richard Charles Albert Holbrooke was an American diplomat, magazine editor, author, professor, Peace Corps official, and investment banker....
stated the killers do not represent average Afghans, most of whom were shocked by these killings.
See also
- 2007 South Korean hostage crisis in Afghanistan2007 South Korean hostage crisis in AfghanistanThe 2007 South Korean hostage crisis in Afghanistan began on July 19, 2007, when 23 South Korean missionaries were captured and held hostage by members of the Taliban while passing through Ghazni Province of Afghanistan. Two male hostages were executed before the deal was reached between the...
- February 2010 Kabul attackFebruary 2010 Kabul attackThe February 2010 Kabul attack on February 26, 2010 was a combined suicide bombing and shooting attack. A car bomb levelled the Arya Guesthouse, also known as theHamid Guesthouse,popular with Indian doctors....
- Death of Linda NorgroveDeath of Linda NorgroveLinda Norgrove, a Scottish aid worker, and three Afghan colleagues were kidnapped by members of the Taliban in Kunar Province, eastern Afghanistan, on 26 September 2010. The three kidnapped Afghan aid workers were released by the Taliban on 3 October 2010 while negotiations over Norgrove's release...