AHRC Condemns the Air Attack on an Addiction Rehabilitation Camp in Kabul

AHRC Condemns the Air Attack on Addiction Rehabilitation Camp in Kabul and Calls for Independent Investigation and Accountability

March 16, 2026

The Afghanistan Human Rights Center (AHRC) unequivocally condemns the reported air attack on an addiction rehabilitation and recovery camp in District 9 of Kabul, which, according to local reports and witness accounts, resulted in hundreds of civilian casualties. Witnesses reported by media indicate that the facility was sheltering more than 2000 persons receiving treatment and support for addiction at the time of the strike. Preliminary information suggests that the number of casualties may rise into the hundreds.

This attack constitutes a grave assault on a civilian site and raises serious concerns under international humanitarian law and international human rights law. A health facility housing civilians, particularly persons in conditions of acute vulnerability, is protected from attack. Any strike affecting such a site must be assessed against the fundamental legal principles of distinction, proportionality, precaution, and military necessity. The reported targeting of this facility, absent lawful justification, may amount to a serious violation of international law and could give rise to crimes against humanity and war crime.

AHRC urgently calls on the United Nations, including relevant human rights mechanisms, humanitarian agencies, and other competent international bodies, to undertake an immediate, independent, impartial, and transparent investigation into this barbaric attack. Those responsible, including those who ordered, authorized, planned, or carried out the attack, must be identified and held accountable in accordance with international law.

AHRC further demands immediate and unhindered access to the affected site, as well as full and secure access to victims, survivors, witnesses, medical personnel, and relevant records, so that the full circumstances of the attack and the scale of civilian harm can be documented accurately and transparently. Evidence must be preserved without delay, and survivors and witnesses must be protected from intimidation, retaliation, or interference.

This reported strike must also be viewed in the context of a broader and deeply alarming pattern of continued incursions and attacks affecting civilians in Afghanistan. AHRC is deeply concerned that, over the past three months alone, local reports indicate that more than 50 people have been killed and hundreds more injured. This pattern reflects a disturbing disregard for civilian life and underscores the urgent need for international scrutiny, civilian protection, and credible accountability measures.

The AHRC chair, Dr. Samar stated: “Attacks directed against civilians and health and rehabilitation sites are strictly prohibited under international law. Silence and impunity in the face of such violence only deepen human suffering and further erode the already fragile protections available to the people of Afghanistan. The international community must act without delay to establish the facts, protect civilians, and ensure accountability.”

AHRC expresses its solidarity with the victims, survivors, and families affected by this reported attack and reiterates its call for truth, justice, accountability, and the effective protection of civilians in Afghanistan.