Taliban fighters have executed at least 13 ethnic Hazaras, most of them were former soldiers of the erstwhile Afghan government, Amnesty International said, adding the soldiers had already surrendered to the Taliban. The rights body said they conducted an investigation and verified photos and videos of the killings. Hazara, a Persian-speaking Shia community, is an ethnic minority in Afghanistan and dominates central highlands. The community has a centuries-old history of persecution.  

The recent report released by Amnesty International said that the killings took place in Kahor, a village in the central province in Daykundi on 30 August, almost two weeks after the Taliban captured Kabul. Those killed include 11 soldiers of the former government, two civilians, and a 17-year old woman.

Agnes Callamard, Amnesty’s secretary-general, said, “These cold-blooded executions (of the Hazaras) are further proof that the Taliban are committing the same horrific abuses they were notorious for during their previous rule of Afghanistan.”

Between 1996 to 2001, when the Taliban was in power, the group had been accused of carrying out ethnic cleansing of the community. Rights groups fear a repeat of those dark days. 
 
Last week, local reports showed that Taliban fighters had expelled hundreds of Hazaras from their ancestral villages in Daikundi and allocated their land and homes to their supporters. The community makes up around percent of Afghanistan’s 36 million people. 

Daikundi, which is a Hazara-dominated district, was captured by the Taliban on 14 August, a day before the group stormed into the streets of Kabul. Since then, the group has been accused of hunting down soldiers and officers of the former government. 

(SAM)