The families of Nepali security guards killed and injured in the 2016 Kabul blast have settled their lawsuit with the Canadian government.

The CBC News reported that the Candian government quietly settled a lawsuit filed by the survivors and family members of those killed by a suicide bomber outside the Canadian embassy in Kabul.

Thirteen Nepali security guards were killed in the explosion that took place on June 20, 2016. They were en route to their workplace Canadian embassy in Kabul in a minibus when the suicide bomber belonging to a terrorist group ran to the vehicle and triggered the bomb.

After they were denied compensation by the contractor and the Candian government, the families of the dead security guards and the blast survivors had filed a suit against the Canadian government in 2018, demanding $20.4 million in compensation.

Joe Fiorante, the Vancouver-based lawyer for the families, confirmed to the CBC News that the victims’ families and the survivors agreed for the settlement.

“I can tell you the families were satisfied with the settlement and that they are confident the Government of Canada has recognized the sacrifice and service of those gentlemen who were protecting our embassy in Kabul at the time of the bombing,” Fiorante was quoted as saying to the CBC News.

Families of the victims and the survivors had alleged the Candian government that it was negligent and failed in its duty to supervise the private security contractor—Sabre International Security—which had hired Nepalis for guarding the perimeter of the Canadian embassy in Kabul.

Earlier, the families had filed a lawsuit against both the Candian government and Sabre International. But after the tragic incident, the Sabre had folded operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan and could not be located.

The company, which had grabbed a slew of contracts to guard US military bases and several other important sites in Iraq, also won the contract to guard the Canadian embassy in Kabul in 2011, reported The Atlantic. The company had then hired Nepali workers for less than $1,000 a month and vanished soon after the incident.

Following the 2016 incident, the Nepal government banned Nepali workers from migrating to war-torn countries like Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. However, many Nepalis continue to migrate to these countries through unsafe routes.

The foreign missions based in Iraq and Afghanistan, rely on contracting companies to guard, supply and manage its military bases, embassies, and other facilities. Private security companies prefer to hire ex-soldiers from the Indian and British Gurkha Regiments, the Nepal Army, and the police.

Nepalis guarding these crucial sites in war zones of Afghanistan and Iraq are dying cheap deaths. Nepalis who are injured or killed while working for security contractors are often sent home with only nominal compensation or nothing at all.

Published on: 5 October 2020 | The Kathmandu Post