The protest, including people of all ages, was one of the largest of its kind both against the Afghan government for failing to provide security in the country, as well as against militant groups like the Taliban and Islamic State.
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Bearing the green-draped coffins of the dead and carrying banners with slogans such as “The Taliban are committing crimes and the government is supporting them”, the procession marched more than 10 kilometers (six miles) to the presidential palace. In the past five days, rival Taliban groups have been fighting each other in the area where the bodies were found.
It also underscored the unease among the country’s minorities, which are increasingly fearful of being targeted by militants.
Sep 20, 2014: In Ghazni Province of Afghanistan, Taliban insurgents led by camouflaged men wearing black masks set at least 60 homes on fire and killed more than 100 people and beheaded fifteen family members of local police officers. “Whatever happened to those women and children can happen to us as well”. Provincial officials suspect militants linked to the Islamic State were behind the killings.
Afghan President Ghani condemned the murders as a “heartless killing of innocent individuals” and has reportedly assigned security services to investigate. The burst of gun fired lasted for almost a minute, prompting hundreds of protesters below on the road to scatter.
Most of the protesters dispersed after the gunshots, “but about 1,000 were allowed into the palace compound”.
The Hazaras in Afghanistan, predominantly Shia Muslims, have for the most part coexisted peacefully with the mainly Sunni Afghan tribes since the formation of modern Afghanistan. Protesters held an overnight vigil before beginning their march early Wednesday.
“Death to the Taliban”, “Down with the Government”, “Death to the Islamic State”, and “Death to Pakistan”, chanted the crowd.
Angry relatives of the victims refused to bury the bodies in Ghazni and instead drove them to Kabul.
“Since the district is under Taliban control, we can not confirm which group carried out the beheadings”.
The Islamic State was the focus of the protests in Kabul, as demonstrators chanted “death to Islamic State”.
NBC News notes that the new 17-minute ISIS propaganda video release Monday includes the first footage showing the terrorist group launching a coordinated attack on a military base in Afghanistan. They accused the government of negligence, not only in this latest incident but in a series of horrific events since February 23, when 30 men (again from the Hazara community) were taken hostage by a group of fighters.
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She said the deaths of the seven were evidence of the lack of security across Afghanistan.
