Afghans march through capital to protest Hazara killings

Seven people were wounded, including five from bullet wounds, a spokesman for the public health ministry said.

Protester Fatema Rezai, 32, said the infighting between armed opposition groups shows just how insecure Afghanistan has become.

“The only way to prevent such crimes in the future is to take over all government offices until they wake up and make a decision”, demonstrator Sayed Karim, one of thousands who were present at Mazari Square in western Kabul, told Reuters. This protest however, seems to be a demand for the government to do something the government already desperately wants to do. He said it was time for a grand action against the incumbent government because it had failed to address people woes.

Each of the seven victims were Hazaraz, a minority group composed mostly of Shia Muslims.

The BBC, citing a hostage released after the killings, said the killers may have been Uzbek fighters.

The bodies of the seven victims were first taken to their home province of Ghazni, where protests were also held Tuesday, with demonstrators bearing the coffins of the dead marching to the provincial governor’s compound.

Still, a few feel the Afghan government hasn’t done enough.

Hundreds of people have gathered in the rain west of the city on Wednesday and organiser Daud Naji says they will carry the bodies to the presidential Palace.

Eng. Zakaria Zakarya, a lawmaker from Kabul province, said: “The incident of Khakh-i-Afghan was the worst of its kind in the history of the country”.

Around 7 million live in Afghanistan, in the ethnic region of Hazarajat.

Two men, two women, two boys and one girl were abducted in October and were beheaded last weekend, according to CNN. “And the enemies of Afghanistan gain nothing but shame in this world and wrath in the hereafter”.

Many also and called on the leaders of the National Unity Government, President Ashraf Ghani and CEO Abdullah Abdullah, to resign over their failure to stem the violence still gripping the country.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan released a statement Wednesday condemning the crimes. Videos of the demonstration have been circulating the internet all day and have called more attention to the atrocities of the Taliban.

Though to be of Central Asian decent, most likely from Mongolia and Turkey.

CNN’s Masoud Popalzai reported from Kabul, and CNN’s Greg Botelho reported and wrote from Atlanta.