Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) on Saturday said that 33 people were assassinated in Kandahar over the past two weeks.

“Religious scholars, tribal elders, civil society activists, journalists and human rights defenders and female journalists are being sacrificed in targeted attacks,” said Zabihullah Farhang, spokesman to AIHRC.

The United States has called on the Taliban “to engage in serious negotiations” after the group’s insistence that they will not agree on ceasefire and peace unless there is an agreement on a new government in Afghanistan.

“We call on the Taliban to engage in serious negotiations to determine a political roadmap for Afghanistan's future that leads to a just and durable settlement,” US State Department’s deputy spokesperson Jalina Porter said.