The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on Saturday condemned the attacks on a cricket match in Jalalabad City that killed eight people and wounded 55 others on Friday midnight. 

The organization said in a statement that four explosives were detonated, two inside and two outside the stadium. 

Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, said the Jalalabad attack was brutal adding that those behind the attack should be brought to justice, read the statement.

“I am outraged by this attack that used four bombs carefully calculated to kill and maim civilians watching a cricket match. This cold and brutal act can have no justification whatsoever; those responsible must be held accountable,” said Yamamoto. 

Yamamoto said an attack on civilians is against international humanitarian law and that such attacks are war crimes. Yamamoto also asked all warring parties to protect civilians during conflicts. 

“At a time when Afghans are looking toward much-needed peace, we must not allow such attacks to deter our collective resolve to make progress on ending the conflict,” said Yamamoto.

Yamamoto also touched on the peace process and said the UN is with Afghan people and Afghan government and support Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process to end the current war and violence in the country, read the statement.

“The United Nations stands with Afghans in solidarity and remains committed to an Afghan-led peace process that will end the war and enable Afghanistan to allocate more resources to protect all citizens from such atrocities,” Yamamoto added.