NEW DELHI:
Human rights breaches and killing of civilians in Afghanistan by the Taliban are reaching new highs, especially with increasing assaults on the minority Hazara community.
On Friday, Taliban terrorists killed Dawa Khan Menapal, head of the Afghan government’s media and information centre, in Kabul’s Darul Aman Road. Taliban’s spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility and lauded the terrorists over Twitter.
According to local media reports, the Taliban has murdered more than 40 civilians in Malistan in the past one week. Most of these civilians are from minority Hazara community.
A child in Mata Khan district of Paktika province was hospitalised on Thursday for severe mental illness after witnessing seven days of Taliban atrocity in his locality.
After taking over the control of Zaranj in Nimroz province, Taliban looted public properties and plundered houses of civilians.
Several reports are emerging in Afghan media about Taliban looting, murdering, and taking civilians as hostages in and around Lashkar Gah in Helmand province.
Besides, they are also forcing women to cook, taking their clothes and jewellery, and shooting children in front of their parents’ eyes.
Reports of civilian casualties kept coming throughout last 24 hours. At least one civilian was killed and six others were injured in a blast in Mazar-e-Sharif, capital of Balkh province on Thursday.
Moreover, three civilians were killed and 34 were injured in Herat on the same day. Similarly, three civilians were killed and 22 were injured in Kandahar province at the same time.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Ajmal Omar Shinwari, a spokesperson for the Afghan security forces, informed that in the past five days, 162 civilians had been killed and 22 have been injured in Taliban attacks across Afghan provinces. Shinwari further said that the Taliban had destroyed 172 schools in different parts of the country in the past two months.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has expressed concerns over the safety and protection of people in Helmand and Kandahar provinces.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Office said: “In Helmand and Kandahar, there are reports of increased civilian casualties, destruction or damage to civilian houses as well as to critical infrastructure, including hospitals. Hospitals and health workers are becoming overwhelmed by the number of wounded people.”
A major non-profit organization, International Rescue Committee (IRC), said: “In Afghanistan, women and children made up close to half of all civilian casualties in the first half of this year, and the latest violence should be cause for great alarm for members of the international community. Where fighting is most intense, humanitarian aid workers have also been forced to temporarily flee.”
