KABUL // Grieving worshippers on Wednesday described desperately trying to shelter their children against a hail of gunfire in Kabul that killed at least 18 people gathering to mark Ashura, one of the most important festivals of the Shiite calendar.
Officials said they were still confirming casualties as witnesses described gunmen firing “indiscriminately” on men, women and children as they tried to flee.
Late Tuesday gunmen entered the Karte Sakhi shrine near Kabul University, sparking a two-hour long siege as they exchanged fire with Afghan security forces.
At least 18 civilians were killed and 50 wounded, the United Nations said. Some witnesses said the toll could be higher.
Among the dead were four women and two children, according to the UN, which condemned the attack as an “atrocity”.
One mother who gave her name as Saleha said a gunman was “killing everyone”.
She was shot in the leg as she tried to protect her child. “While I was hugging my little son I begged him not to kill my child,” she said.
The child survived, but she angrily denounced the Afghan government for failing to protect them.
“The families of the president, CEO Dr Abdullah and other rich ones live abroad. Here, only poor people are killed every day.”
Another witness, Ali Hussain, said attackers wearing military uniforms first shot the police guard at the gate and then entered the shrine, where dozens of worshippers had gathered.
“They indiscriminately shot everyone they faced. They wouldn’t even spare women and children,” said Hussain, who fled through a library back door.
Mourners buried at least one of the victims, a four-year-old girl, on Wednesday morning.
“Last night was a doomsday for us,” said Mohammed Hussain, one of the girl’s relatives.
There were conflicting reports about the number of attackers and attacks on Tuesday, with interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi saying Wednesday there had been two attacks in two different Kabul locations.
“There were two attacks last night in which two terrorists were involved. We are still trying to finalise casualties report,” he said, without providing further details.
The health ministry said at least 44 wounded people were taken to various hospitals in Kabul.
The Taliban said they were not involved and no group has yet officially claimed responsibility for what president Ashraf Ghani condemned as a “clear sign of a crime against humanity”.
The threat of attack targeting Shiites was considered particularly serious during Ashura, and many foreign embassies in Kabul had restricted their staff’s movements until the end of the week.
Ashura commemorates the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, who was assassinated in 680 and whose tragic end laid the foundation for the faith practised by the Shiite community.
Commemorations for the holy day of Ashura in the Afghan capital, Kabul, were subdued on Wednesday amid security fears.
The last attack on Afghanistan’s Shiite minority, on July 23 in Kabul, killed 84 people and left 130 injured. It was claimed by the ISIL organisation.
In 2011, about 80 people were killed and more than 100 were wounded when a suicide bomber struck a gathering of Shiites during Ashura in the heart of Kabul.
* Agence France-Presse and Reuters
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.
Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.
