Save the Children: 'Devastating 48 hours for Afghanistan's children'

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (May 13, 2020)—Following multiple attacks in Afghanistan, including a devastating assault on a maternal and newborn health clinic in Kabul on May 12 that killed several children, Save the Children has released the below statement.

Timothy Bishop, Save the Children’s Afghanistan Country Director, said:

“Save the Children strongly condemns this brutal attack on a hospital maternal ward in Kabul. Newborn babies and women in labor were killed in cold blood. This was a sinister, cowardly and calculated attack on women, children, and health workers. Our thoughts are with the victims’ families.  

“The first moments of a newborn’s life should be spent in the arms of its mother, not in a burning hospital with bullets and bombs raining down. No baby should enter the world this way and no mother should have to face such a traumatic event.

“It has been a devastating 48 hours for Afghanistan’s children. Besides the tragic incident in Kabul, at least seven children were killed in separate attacks in Logar, Farah, and Paktika provinces.

“These multiple attacks on civilians have seen a resumption of offensive operations against armed groups. At a time when the world must come together to fight COVID-19, we urge all parties in Afghanistan to stop the fighting right now and do everything possible to protect children. We also urge the international community to help Afghans reach a lasting ceasefire.   

“The deliberate targeting of civilians and attacks on hospitals and schools are indisputable war crimes under international law. The perpetrators must be held to account.” 

Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. Since our founding more than 100 years ago, we’ve changed the lives of more than 1 billion children. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.