Afghan Justice Minister accuses Taliban of war crimes

Kabul [Afghanistan], August 4 (ANI): Afghan Justice Minister Fazel Ahmad Manawi has accused the Taliban of war crimes, says the terror group is not committed to adhering to any international laws or humanitarian norms.

Manawi on Monday said that all crimes against humanity committed by Taliban terrorists should be assessed at the national and international levels, TOLOnews reported.

In recent few weeks, several videos surfaced purportedly showing Taliban carrying out atrocities on civilians and captured Afghan soldiers.

In one such video, Taliban terrorists were seen killing an Afghan army commander after he was arrested by the terror group.

Specifically, the video shows the moment when Colonel Abdul Hamid Hamidi, the commander of the 1st Regiment of the Afghan Army’s 207 Zafar Corps in Herat, is taken captive.

Security officials said the colonel was arrested with five of his soldiers and then he was shot and killed.

“What is done by the Taliban is a violation of human rights, a violation of international law and is an international crime and humanitarian crime,” Manawi said.

A watchdog organisation also said that it has registered many such incidents of war crimes committed by the Taliban.

“Shooting captives is against the law and is a crime under national and international laws as well as under Sharia law,” said Mohammad Ayub Yusufzai, a member of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who attended a special session of the Houses of Parliament on Monday said the Taliban has become crueller compared to the past.

“Talib attacks are more violent, more bloodthirsty and more oppressive,” Ghani said.

Back in June, 23 members of an Afghan special force unit were executed by the Taliban in Faryab province after they surrendered to the group.

Afghanistan is witnessing a surge in violence as the Taliban has intensified its offensive against Afghan forces and civilians with the complete pullback of foreign forces just a few weeks away.

Over the last few weeks, the Taliban have captured several districts in Afghanistan including Takhar, the country’s northeastern province.

Nationwide, the Taliban controls 223 districts, with 116 contested and the government holding 68, according to the Long War Journal, whose calculations tally with CNN’s estimates. It says 17 of 34 provincial capitals are directly threatened by the Taliban. (ANI)