Hundreds of former Afghan government officials and armed forces members have killed by the Taliban since its takeover of the country in August 2021, according to a UN report released on Tuesday.
The report documents at least 800 instances of extrajudicial killing, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and ill-treatment, and enforced disappearance carried out against individuals affiliated with the former government and its security forces between August 15, 2021, and June 30, 2023.
In interviews conducted by the UN mission, Afghans described instances of torture and ill-treatment carried out by Taliban members, including beatings with pipes, cables, verbal threats and abuse.
The mission also heard from family members whose relatives had arrested or gone missing, their bodies found days or even months later.
In some instances, individuals have never found. The former Head of the Herat Women’s Prison, Alia Azizi, never returned home from work on October 2, 2021. As of August 22 this year, her whereabouts remain unknown.
Asking the Taliban to clarify the terms of the general amnesty, the UN mission in Afghanistan has called for credible and transparent criminal investigations into alleged human rights violations against former government officials and ANDSF members