Afghan Fighting Rages as US and UK Accuse Taliban of Massacring Civilians
The United Nations said Afghanistan could see the highest number of civilian deaths in more than a decade if the Taliban’s offensives are not halted.
The United States and Britain on Monday accused the Taliban of atrocities that may amount to “war crimes” in the town of Spin Boldak, which the insurgents captured last month along the border with Pakistan.
The diplomatic lashing comes after Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission said the insurgents had indulged in revenge killings in Spin Boldak.
“The Taliban chased and identified past and present government officials and killed these people who had no combat role in the conflict,” the group said, adding at least 40 people had been killed by the Taliban.
“These murders could constitute war crimes,” the embassies of Washington and London said in separate tweets.
The targeted killing of Hazaras has been a devastating focus of both ISIS-K & the Taliban. We are learning about the Taliban’s murder of 40+ civilians in #Malistan, Ghazni. If true, these could constitute war crimes. HR abuses must be investigated. 🇬🇧 + 🇺🇸 urge #CeasefireNow. pic.twitter.com/gfAnUS5o6D
— U.S. Embassy Kabul (@USEmbassyKabul) August 3, 2021
Taliban leadership must be held responsible, they said, adding: “If you cannot control your fighters now, you have no business in governance later.”
Top US diplomat Antony Blinken also slammed the militant leaders, saying the reports were “deeply disturbing and totally unacceptable.”
An Afghanistan without a democratic, inclusive government would be a “pariah state,” he said, adding that the international recognition the group wants will not be possible if it “seeks to take the country by force and commits the kind of atrocities that have been reported.”
State Department spokesman Ned Price said the Taliban attacks show “little regard for human life.”
“If the Taliban leadership truly supports a negotiated solution to this conflict, as they say they do… they must stop these horrific attacks,” he said.
‘Many Are Suffering’
Fighting meanwhile continued in the Lashkar Gah overnight as Afghan forces beat back a fresh Taliban assault.
