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KABUL: The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission considered the Taliban group responsible for killing of dozens of civilians in Spin-Boldak district of southern Kandahar province.
The commission said that it found out the Taliban had not been committed to any humanitarian law and ignored the human rights measures. According to the commission, the insurgents engaged into revenge-murder of civilians and plundered the assets of the residents.
The civilians were killed and wounded after they welcomed and praised the recapture of the districts by the Afghan security forces, the commission said.
An official of the commission, Zabiullah Farhang said that the identity of 40 killed civilians was specified.
“The identity of 40 people was specified and there is a possibility for more of them (to be found), and what happened in Spin-Boldak is a war crime,” he said. “(They) have killed the civilians and looted their residences which are completely violation of international law of war.”
A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid denied the killing of civilians by the group’s fighters in Spin-Boldak. “The rumors that hundreds of people have gone missing and hundreds of others have been killed are speculations and untrue.”
But Patricia Gossman, Associate Asia director for Human Rights Watch said that although the Taliban’s leaders denied any of abuse, there are sufficient documents show civilians’ killing by insurgents in the area under their control.
The UN Assistant Mission in Afghanistan expressed its deepest concerns over rise in violence “around Kandahar”. “Amidst ongoing Taliban attacks on city, more than 230 civilians injured since 16 July. Numbers likely much higher. Credible reports of scores of civilians killed. Working to establish facts on civilian harm,” UNAMA said in a tweet on Friday.
The UNAMA and AIHRC urged the Afghan warring parties to behold all possible measures to protect civilians from harming and suffering casualties.
