The “Group of Friends of Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC)” in a statement on Tuesday stated “extreme concern” with reports of sexual abuse in Logar and the detention of human rights activists by the National Directorate of Security (NDS).

The group called for a “prompt, independent and impartial” investigation into the case by the Afghan Attorney General’s Office, the AGO.

“We are extremely concerned about the allegations of sexual abuse of a large number of boys in several schools in Logar province and the subsequent arbitrary and incommunicado detention of civil society activists who reported the alleged exploitation and violence,” the statement said.

The group also called for “immediate measures” by the Afghan government in Logar to “ensure the protection of the boys who were alleged to have been abused, including the temporary removal from their positions of the teachers, principals and other adults who are allegedly implicated, pending the outcome of the AGO’s investigation”  and for “victims and their families” to be provided with “necessary services such as psychological and social support and shelter, if required.” 

The US State Department’s Alice G. Wells earlier on Tuesday also called on Afghan authorities, including the Attorney General’s Office, “to take decisive action on deeply troubling reports of sexual abuse in Logar schools.”