The Taliban on Sunday rejected reports of “summary executions” of former members of the Afghan security forces, which “deeply concern” the United States and its Western allies.
“We are deeply concerned by reports of summary executions and enforced disappearances of former members of the Afghan security forces, as documented by Human Rights Watch and others,” said some 20 countries, including Britain and Japan, as well as the European Union in a statement issued by the US State Department.
“We stress that the alleged actions constitute serious human rights violations and contravene the amnesty announced by the Taliban,” said the group of allies, also calling on the new Afghan leadership to ensure that the amnesty is applied and “maintained throughout the country and in all their ranks”.
This week, the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report which it said documents “killings or disappearances of 47 former members of the Afghan National Security Forces who surrendered or were detained by the Taliban forces between August 15 and October 31 ”.
“Among the victims are military personnel, police, intelligence agents and militiamen,” said HRW.
The Taliban rejected these accusations, deemed “unfair”.
“This information is not based on any evidence. We reject them, ”said Taliban Interior Ministry spokesman Qari Sayed Khosti in a video message sent to the press.
“There have been cases of murders of former members of the security forces” of the government overthrown last summer, “but because of personal rivalries or enmities,” he said.
“If they have documents and evidence, they should show them to us,” he added to the Westerners.
For Washington and its allies, “reported cases must be promptly and transparently investigated, those responsible must be held to account and these steps must be clearly announced to act as an immediate deterrent to further killings and disappearances.”
“We will continue to judge the Taliban on their actions,” they also recalled.
The spokesman for the Taliban Ministry of the Interior recalled that the Taliban had, after their return to power, decreed a general amnesty for all the security forces of the former regime. And that by virtue of this, many of them “live quietly” in the country, while they “killed hundreds of combatants [talibans] and civilians ”during the last two decades of war.
In addition to the United States and the European Union, the signatories of the communiqué are Germany, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Japan, North Macedonia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine.
“Credible allegations” of retaliation
The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August as the US-backed government in Kabul and the country’s military collapsed.
Their return to the helm of the country came twenty years after they were driven out by American forces ending their fundamentalist regime, which brought them international opprobrium due in particular to the brutal treatment of women, the disrespect for human rights and the rigorous interpretation of Islam.
Today’s Taliban leaders, eager to gain international respectability, have promised their regime will be different.
But, according to HRW, “Taliban leaders ordered members of the surrendered security force units to come and register to obtain a letter guaranteeing their safety.” However, the Taliban forces used these lists of names to carry out the detention and summary execution or enforced disappearance of these people a few days after their registration ”.
U.S. officials spoke to Afghan authorities earlier this week and urged the Islamist movement to provide education to women and girls across the country. The United States has also “expressed deep concern over allegations of human rights violations,” a US spokesperson said.