English: Afghanistan reports of torture and killing contradict Taliban’s promises

*Evidence of killings, detentions and intimidation is emerging across Afghanistan, contradicting the group’s promise not to take revenge against its opponents.  With reports of the Taliban going door to door searching for those who worked with the former Afghan government or western countries, evidence of Taliban fighters torturing and killing members of an ethnic minority in Afghanistan after overrunning their village last month.  Amnesty International said its researchers had spoken to witnesses in Ghazni province who recounted how the Taliban killed nine Hazara men in the village of Mundarakht between 4 - 6 July.

*Hazaras are Shia Muslims who were previously persecuted by the Taliban.  The brutality of the killings was “a reminder of the Taliban’s past record, and a horrifying indicator of what Taliban rule may bring”, said Agnès Callamard, the head of Amnesty International.  The Taliban cut mobile phone services in many areas they have captured to prevent images of death and torture from being published.

*In a separate incident, Taliban fighters also killed a relative of an Afghan journalist working for the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle who they were looking for in western Afghanistan. The broadcaster revealed that three more of its journalists had also had their homes raided. There have been reports of riotors being killed in several cities and the beating and intimidation of those trying to flee the country.

*Katja Gloger of the German division of Reporters Without Borders said: *“Sadly, this confirms our worst fears. The brutal action of the Taliban shows that the lives of independent media workers in Afghanistan are in acute danger.”  Many Afghans fear a return to the Taliban’s harsh rule of the late 1990s, when the group largely confined women to their homes, banned television and music, chopped off the hands of suspected thieves and held public executions. 

The executive director of RHIPTO said the organization knew about several threat letters sent to Afghans, including a man who was taken from his Kabul apartment this week by the Taliban.  “We had access to hard copies of concrete letters issued and stamped by the Taliban military commission to this effect,” said Christian Nellemann.

US president, Joe Biden, stated that between 50,000 and 65,000 Afghans might be at risk from the new regime, western military leaders pledged to redouble their efforts to evacuate 10,000+ Afghans desperate to escape Kabul’s new Taliban rulers. A Nato official said that about 18,000 people had already been airlifted out.

*In a sign of the new urgency, Germany said it would send two light helicopters to help evacuate citizens in the Kabul area after a German was shot and wounded driving to the airport. However, most Afghans are unable to leave their homeland and those who may be in danger “have no clear way out”, said the United Nations refugee agency. Shabia Mantoo, spokesperson of the UN high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR), again called to the neighbouring countries to keep their borders open to allow  people to seek asylum in light of the “evolving crisis”.  With thousands of people still thronging the airport, the Taliban urged unity before Friday prayers, calling on Imams to persuade people not to leave Afghanistan.

*Amid images of the chaos and desperation, and evidence of the often arbitrary rules that have excluded large numbers of people who worked for western countries.  In a further evidence of the airport chaos, the Dutch foreign minister, Sigrid Kaag, said countries were struggling to track which evacuation flights their nationals were being put on.  “Because of the chaos at the airport, we do not at this moment have a clear picture of in which airplane our own people; the citizens of other European countries; Nato allies, or of Afghan personnel – no country does,” said Kaag.  And in a further blow to the credibility of the Biden administration, which claims it could not have predicted the speed of the collapse of Afghan government forces, the Wall Street Journal claimed a state department cable, dated 13 July, warned of rapid territorial gains by the Taliban and the subsequent collapse of Afghan security forces, and offered recommendations on ways to mitigate the crisis and speed up an evacuation.

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The US state department spokesperson Ned Price said in Washington that 6,000 people were cleared for evacuation and were expected to board military flights in the coming hours. That would mark a major increase from previous days. Biden is due to speak about the evacuation efforts, having faced a torrent of criticism for his handling of the troop withdrawal, negotiated by the Trump administration. The Biden administration, is under pressure to expand the scope of its efforts after it was disclosed that some European forces, including an elite French police team, crossed Taliban lines and entered the city streets of Kabul to rescue civilians.  The mounting concerns about human rights violations came as an official familiar with talks with the Taliban said the group did not plan to make any announcements about the new government until after the 31 August US withdrawal date had passed.

*The Taliban lead negotiator, Anas Haqqani, had told his ex-government interlocutors that the insurgent movement had a deal with the US “to do nothing” until after the final withdrawal date.

*Taliban Quash Protests and Seize Enemies

As they are tightening their grip on Afghanistan, the Taliban cracked down on protests in at least 4 cities, and they rounded up opponents even as fearful workers stayed home and thousands of people continued a frenzied rush to leave the country.

*Hundreds of protesters took to the streets for a 2^nd day to rally against Taliban rule. Again, they were met them with force, undermining the leadership’s suggestions that they would moderate the brutality they have long been known for.

*Armed Taliban fighters operated checkpoints and directed traffic. They were stepping up an intensive search for people who worked with US and NATO forces, according to witnesses and a security assessment prepared for the U.N. There have been arrests, property seizures and reports of reprisal killings. Kabul’s international airport remained a scene of desperation, as thousands struggled to get in and board flights out.

*Millions of other Afghans, including critical workers, hid in their homes despite Taliban calls for them to return to work. Aid agencies said services like electricity, sanitation, water and health care could soon be affected. The anti-Taliban protests offered evidence that while 100,000+ are now seeking to escape, some of those left behind would try to have a voice in the country’s direction, despite the crackdown. There were news reports of several people killed in the eastern city of Asadabad when Taliban fighters opened fire Thursday at a rally. In the SE city of Khost, the group imposed a curfew, a day after demonstrations and clashes there. The protests on Thursday in Kabul included one that drew about 200 people before the Taliban used force to break it up.

*Taliban leaders declared the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan — the same name they used a generation ago. A day earlier, they fired on demonstrators waving the tricolor flag of the collapsed government in the eastern city of Jalalabad, with reports of 2 – 3 people killed. 

In Kabul, the streets were quiet, largely empty of traffic, interrupted by occasional bursts of gunfire and the roar of U.S. military planes patrolling and conducting the round-the-clock evacuation. With long experience of war and upheaval, most people stayed home.

As always, stay informed and stay safe!

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