Reports of targeted Taliban killings fuel fear of Afghans

Kabul, Afghanistan — Reports of targeted killings in areas attacked by the Taliban on Friday are oppressive, imposed when Afghanistan last came to power, even if it urged Imams to push a message of unity on Friday. It fuels concerns that it may return to the rules. prayer.

Thousands of Kabul airport and border crossings follow Taliban’s spectacular blitz through Afghanistan, fearing new de facto rulers commit such abuse and despair for the future of their country I competed in the place. Others went out to the streets to protest the takeover — acts of rebellion violently suppressed by Taliban fighters.

The Taliban said it has promised to be more moderate since its last rule in Afghanistan in the 1990s, regain security in 20 years from the US-led aggression, and forgive those who fought them. Prior to Friday’s prayer, leaders used a sermon to appeal to Imam for unity and urged people not to flee the country.

However, many Afghans are skeptical, fearing that the Taliban will wipe out the interests of women, especially those achieved in the last two decades. Amnesty International’s report provided more evidence on Friday to undermine the Taliban’s claims they modified.

The rights group said the researchers spoke to witnesses in Ghazni who told the Taliban how they killed nine Hazara men in the village of Mundarakut on July 4-6. Six of the men were shot dead and three were tortured and died. The Hazara are Shiite Muslims who were previously persecuted by the Taliban and have significantly improved their education and social status in recent years.

The brutality of the killings “reminded us of the Taliban’s past records and was a terrifying indicator that the Taliban’s rule could bring,” said Agnes Caramad, head of Amnesty International.

The rights group warned that more killings may not have been reported as the Taliban shut down mobile phone services in many of the areas it captured to prevent the release of images.

Separately, Reporters Without Borders warned of news that Taliban fighters had killed a family of Afghan journalists working in Deutsche Welle, Germany, on Wednesday.

According to broadcasters, the fighters searched home-to-house for reporters who had already emigrated to Germany. The Taliban also said it had attacked the homes of at least three journalists.

“Sadly, this confirms our worst fear,” said Kacha Grogel, a reporter without the German section of Reporters Without Borders. “The brutal behavior of the Taliban show[s] The lives of independent media workers in Afghanistan are in serious danger. “

Meanwhile, a Norwegian-based civilian intelligence group providing information to the United Nations has evidence that the Taliban has rounded Afghanistan to a blacklist of those who believe it played an important role in the previous Afghanistan regime or US-led troops. Said that.

The secretary-general of the RHIPTO Norwegian Global Analysis Center said in an email that he was aware of several blackmails sent to Afghanistan, including a man taken from an apartment in Kabul by the Taliban this week.

“We had access to a hard copy of the concrete letter issued and engraved by the Taliban Military Commission to this effect,” said Christian Neleman. The report from the group obtained by the Associated Press contained one copy of the letter.

The AP was unable to independently verify the group’s claims.

Under the Taliban’s previous rules, women were primarily trapped in their homes, television and music were banned, and public executions were carried out on a regular basis. But the movement leaders have promised more moderation this time around.

It is not clear whether the reports of abuse indicate that the Taliban leaders are saying that they are doing something else, or that they simply do not have complete control of their army. No.

The scale and speed of their takeover seems to have challenged the leadership’s ability to control their fighters. In Kabul, for example, there are reports that fighters have promised safety to major media outlets, but there are also cases of threatening business owners.

In the midst of uncertainty, thousands of people rushed to the airport in Kabul, where chaotic evacuation was underway, and bravely confronted a checkpoint with Taliban fighters.

Mohammad Naim, who was in the crowd trying to escape for four days at the airport, said he had to put the children on the roof of the car on the first day to prevent them from being crushed by a large number of people. He saw other unobtrusive children killed.

Naim, who said he was an interpreter for the US military, urged others not to come to the airport.

“It’s a very, very crazy situation right now,” he said.

The United States is struggling to accelerate the pace of evacuation from Afghanistan, where thousands of Americans and their Afghan allies may need to escape. European countries are also working to bring out their citizens and those who worked with them.

However, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles said Friday that the military transport had left Kabul partially empty in the turmoil.

“No one is in control of the situation,” Robles told Spanish public radio RNE.

Getting to the facility is also a big issue. According to officials, Germany had sent two helicopters to Kabul to help take a few people to the airport from elsewhere in the city.

Group leaders are meeting with some officials from the previous Afghan administration amid growing concerns about what the Taliban government will look like.

The Taliban said they wanted an inclusive government, but like any other promise, it was not clear if they would do it well.

In addition to concerns about the Taliban’s abuse, officials warn that Afghanistan’s already weakened economy could collapse further without the massive international aid that supported the fallen western-backed government. bottom. The United Nations has a serious food shortage and experts said the country is in serious need of cash.

By Ahmad Seir, Tameem Akhgar, David Rising