Killing of Deminers Sparks Widespread Condemnation
The killing of 10 deminers and the wounding of 16 others from the HALO Trust organization by unknown gunmen in northern Baghlan province on Tuesday night has sparked strong international reactions.
Unknown masked gunmen attacked the organization s office in Baghlan-e-Marzaki district, said a security official who wished not to be named.
The wounded deminers, along with the bodies of the slain, were transferred to a public hospital in Pul-e-Khumri City, the center of Baghlan.
Those who survived the attack said “the gunmen had sound suppressors on their weapons and gathered all the workers in one room and started shooting.”
Portugal will allow tourist flights from European Union countries with low infection rates and from the UK, but passengers must show a negative coronavirus test.
12 Govt Employees Arrested on Corruption Charges
Twelve employees of the Ministry of Urban Development and Land, including two higher-ranking officials, were arrested by security forces on corruption charges, the Ministry of Interior Affairs said on Saturday.
A source said a total of 14 people have been arrested and some construction projects engineers are also among them.
The Ministry of Interior Affairs said the officials were arrested on charges of embezzlement and misuse of authority.
The ministry said that the arrested individuals “have embezzled tens of millions of Afghanis in contracts of the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing.”
Meanwhile, 135 officials of highways and 51 personnel of Kabul security gates were removed from their posts as part of the Interior Affairs Ministry’s campaign against extortion on highways, the minister of interior affairs, Massoud Andrabi, said.
MoI Removes 186 Personnel on Extortion Charges
The Ministry of Interior Affairs (MoI) removed 135 officials of highways and 51 personnel of Kabul security gates from their posts on extortion charges, officials said.
According to Interior Minister Massoud Andarabi, the move is part of the ministry’s campaign against extortion on the country’s highways.
“They have been fired from their jobs and were referred to the relevant security agencies for further investigation,” the deputy minister of interior affairs, Abdul Saboor Qane, said.
The Interior Affairs Ministry said that after the increase in complaints about extortion on highways, police officers are patrolling various areas where complaints have been lodged to prevent extortion.
A survey by an Afghan news agency shows that the Taliban controls at least 52 percent of the country’s territory while 59 percent of the population lives in areas under the government’s con