NATO allies and partners in Afghanistan on Monday issued a joint statement condemning the ongoing targeted attacks and assassinations of individuals involved in specific sectors of society.

This comes after almost daily killings of people who appear to have been singled out by insurgents to be assassinated.

Of the dozens of people killed in this way in the past few months are judicial officials and media representatives among others.

Even Afghanistan’s First Vice President Amrullah Saleh was targeted but survived the explosion which had singled out his convoy while he was on his way to work early one morning in September.

In Monday’s statement, the EU Delegation, diplomatic missions of the EU Member States, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden, Australia, Canada, the NATO Mission to Afghanistan, Norway, the United Kingdom and the US Mission based in Kabul all stated they “strongly condemn the recent targeted and unlawful attacks on representatives of the media, religious leaders and groups, human rights defenders, students, civil society and civilians at large.”

The statement noted that “the Taliban and various terrorist organizations are responsible for the significant majority of civilian casualties in Afghanistan.”

“We consider these not only as savage attacks against Afghan blood, but as an attack on the very peace process in Afghanistan,” the statement read.

All parties to the statement also said they recognize the bravery of Afghanistan’s people, but that they are confident that these attacks will fail in their intent to silence the diversity of opinions.

“It has never mattered more for the people of Afghanistan to feel able to express themselves freely and provide their opinions on the peace talks, as well as engage in the process, to achieve an inclusive and sustainable peace.”

“Upholding the free flow of information and holding the perpetrators accountable will benefit everyone who wishes to live in a peaceful and democratic Afghanistan,” their statement read.

They said they honor all those in Afghanistan who work tirelessly to advance freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

They also specifically stated that the respective missions expect that all parties to the conflict will protect the freedom and the independence of the media and civil society in Afghanistan.

“We reaffirm our commitment to champion the freedom of all the Afghan people. We call for immediate compliance with international humanitarian law and international human rights law.

“To this end, we support the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in its efforts to investigate and prosecute those who are targeting these individuals with violence and immediately end the impunity of these killings.”