The United States (US) ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas said that the current level of violence is threatening the progress toward a durable peace, reports Tolo News on March 24. “The ongoing violence including targeted killings of civilians is unacceptable. Violence now prevents progress towards sustainable peace. Journalists, human rights defenders and civil servants cannot continue to live in fear,” she said at a United Nations (UN) Security Council Open Debate on the Situation in Afghanistan on Wednesday. “We condemn these attacks and reiterate our deepest sympathies to their families who had lost their lives. For a peace agreement to be durable and just, it (must) respect the universal human rights of all Afghans including women, girls and members of minority groups,” added the US envoy to the UN.