New Delhi: As they seized control of Afghanistan this August, the Taliban tortured and killed members of ethnic and religious minorities, soldiers of the now defunct Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF), and those perceived as government sympathisers in reprisal attacks, the Amnesty International said in a report. According to Amnesty, on September 6 Taliban forces attacked Bazarak town in Panjshir province and after a brief battle, approximately 20 men were captured and detained for two days, at times jailed in a pigeon coop.
They were tortured, denied food, water and medical assistance, and repeatedly threatened with execution.
One of the men captured by the Taliban said: “(The) Talib had taken a knife… He was saying he wanted to behead the wounded because they are infidels and Jews.”
Another man added: “They kept us underground. When we were asking for medical treatment of the wounded, the Taliban were saying, ‘let them diel… There was no food and water, and no support to the wounded. They had brutal relations with us. When we were asking for water, they were saying, ‘die of thirst’.”
Torture and cruel and inhuman treatment of captives constitute war crimes, the Amnesty report said.
Later the same day, the Taliban also attacked the nearby village of Urmaz, where they conducted door-to-door searches to identify people suspected of working for the former Ashraf Ghanigovernment.
The fighters extrajudicially executed at least six male civilians within 24 hours, mainly by gunshots to the head or chest.
Such killings constitute war crimes. Witnesses said that while some of the men had previously served in the ANSDF, none were in government security forces or taking part in hostilities in any way at the time of execution.
The report also documents reprisal attacks and executions of people affiliated with the former government in Spin Boldak.
Amnesty International previously documented Taliban massacres of ethnic Hazaras in Ghazni and Daykundi provinces.
The full scale of the killings nationwide still remains unknown, as the Taliban cut mobile phone service, or severely restricted internet access, in many rural areas. (IANS)
