(Kabul) The US and British embassies in Kabul on Monday accused the Taliban of killing tens of thousands of civilians in the Spin Boldak district of southern Afghanistan.
The two embassies said, “The Taliban leadership must be held accountable for the crimes of their militants. If you can not control your militants now, then you have no contact with the government.”
War crimes
“These killings will create war crimes. They must be investigated and the Taliban militants or leaders responsible must be held accountable,” the two embassies said in similar words on their respective Twitter accounts.
(…) After the takeover of Spin Boltak district, the Taliban sought out and identified past and present government officials and killed those who had not taken part in the fighting.
Extract from the report of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission
The commission says it has identified 40 people killed in the district by the Taliban, but “according to some allegations, cannot be immediately verified, their number may be higher”.
Insurgents retaliated against residents who welcomed Afghan forces, including looting their homes in an attempt to retake the district. According to the AIHRC, civilians were killed “for personal reasons” and “for past conflicts”.
The commission said the killings by the Taliban in the Spin Boldak district were a clear violation of international humanitarian law and war crimes.
According to her, “While the Taliban leadership has officially confirmed that its fighters will not attack civilians or civilian buildings, this chapter and others like it show that, contrary to what it says, the movement does not adhere to international principles in practice. Human rights and humanitarian law.”
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