The Taliban Is Not an Unknown Name

Taliban is not an unfamiliar name, they have been oppressing the people of Afghanistan, women, girls, and civilians for years, and they are terrorizing the world. Not only from my idea. But from the point of view of humanity and human rights, this behavior is a clear crime against humanity. Taliban have always committed crimes against people and minorities of Afghanistan, and their crimes are not hidden from the people of Afghanistan. Recently, the attack of the Taliban group on residential houses in the Daykundi province of Afghanistan, in which innocent women and children were killed, has caused widespread reactions inside and outside the country. And this action of the Taliban has been called an act of intimidation and a crime against humanity.

The People’s Property as Spoils of War and Victory

On November 24, 2022, fighters of the Taliban group shot all the members of an Afghan-Hazara family, including elders, women, and children, in an attack on the village of Siwak-Shibar in the Daykundi province of Afghanistan. Therefore, people and local sources from the scene of the incident say that 13 people, including four children, were killed and slaughtered by the Afghan-Pashtun Taliban fighters. Like ISIS, the Taliban have constantly insulted and dishonored the bodies of the victims or their property based on their religious views and ideologies, or they consider all the victims’ property as their war booty. After shooting and killing members of this family, fighters of the Taliban group and their war commanders prayed for victory on the roof of their house. These families were from the Hazaras and Shia of Afghanistan.

The Taliban group shot all the members of these families on the charge of membership in the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan led by Ahmad Masoud. At the same time, these families’ relatives say they were not related to any political or military movement. Amrullah Saleh, the former vice president of Afghanistan, is an anti-Pakistani figure and has always spoken frankly against Pakistan’s destructive policies in Afghanistan. On his Facebook page, Mr. Saleh “called this attack of Taliban fighters on a village in Daykundi province of Afghanistan as brutal and said that the ignorant and fanatic Taliban militias killed all the members of a family in an attack on a house. He called this crime of the Taliban ethnic and revenge against the Hazaras of Afghanistan”.

The Killing of Children, Women, and Civilians

Afghan citizens and social media activists have also reacted to this massacre of civilians and requested human rights organizations to investigate this Taliban crime seriously and comprehensively. After taking control of Afghanistan on August 25, 2021, the Taliban group shot hundreds of civilians, including women, children, and soldiers of the previous government of Afghanistan, in different parts of Afghanistan. In most cases, the Taliban group recorded videos of their crimes and released them on social networks to create fear and panic in society.

The War Crimes Against Civilians

Even though it is based on all the national and international conventions and protection of vulnerable groups, killing and torturing children, women, and civilians is a human crime against humanity. But the Taliban group and the Afghan-Pashtun Taliban fighters violated all humanitarian, regional, national, and international laws. They killed Afghan people daily under various pretexts that such crimes are war crimes against women, children, and civilians. These crimes of the Taliban group have been condemned many times by human rights organizations and the world. These institutions have asked the Taliban and its war militias to respect human rights and ethnic minorities, especially women and children. Still, the Taliban group has not yet paid attention to these demands of the world.

Rebellion or Crime Against Humanity in Daykundi?

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said their forces “suppressed a group of insurgents in Daykundi province in central Afghanistan.” Regarding this crime, Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson of the Taliban group, said that “reports were published about the presence of armed men in a house in Siwak-Shibar area of Daykundi Province. He says that the insurgents refused to put their weapons on the ground and clashed with the arrival of the Taliban security forces, in which one Taliban force was killed, and two others were wounded. Taliban have claimed after their forces launched a “counter-attack,” as a result of the shootings, “9 armed men were killed, and 4 of them were injured”. However, what has been raised by the Taliban is only an allegation. No documentation has been published to confirm that anti-Taliban armed forces were present in the area where the attack and killing occurred.

Creating an Atmosphere of Panic and Terror in Daykundi

On the other hand, eyewitnesses also say that the Taliban targeted young boys, teenagers, and women, who were undoubtedly innocent. Their killing is an example of a crime against humanity, and the cases of Taliban human rights crimes should be investigated criminally. Another important point is that Daykundi province is a frigid province in central Afghanistan. The cold winter in this region has already started. In such circumstances, no armed group can start a war against the Taliban group or raise the flag of resistance in this province. Therefore, the ridiculous claim of the Taliban group about the killing of what they call “insurgents” and is used so-called for the armed forces opposing the Taliban is a baseless and pure lie. In the meantime, maybe the Taliban fighters, by using the differences and ethnic hostilities between the local people, have tried to create an atmosphere of terror in the non-Pashtun areas by committing this horrible, catastrophic, and extremely inhumane crime in Daykundi province.

The Taliban Should Not Have National and International Exemptions

Whatever the truth is, what happened in Daykundi, where the criminal forces of the Taliban group targeted children, women, and defenseless civilians, is an explicit and horrific crime against humanity and should be prosecuted by independent international authorities. Taliban should never have immunity and exemption from the crimes they commit. The Taliban must be punished ultimately and fairly for their actions and bear the costs of repression, intimidation, killings, and tragedies they create. They should not have national and international immunity for their crimes. In this way, the lawsuits of minorities, civilians, and women and girls who are victims of these crimes will be addressed, and the regime will conclude that it can no longer suppress the people in silence and its repressive policies against Implementing target populations.

The Ethnic and Talibanism Nationalism

Ethnic nationalism or Talibanism nationalism in Afghanistan is a standard feature for ethnic and Taliban fanatics. So, this is ethnic nationalism that defines people of a country in terms of ethnicity, which always includes some elements of ancestry, previous generations, and genophilia or xenophobia. Also, ethnic nationalism contains ideas of a shared culture of a particular tribe among the members of that tribe, the ancestors of that group, and usually related to a common language. At the same time, Talibanism nationalism considers the government and nation of Afghanistan as hereditary. Therefore, people-centered governments, democracy, and social justice are not legitimate regarding Taliban ideology except for their own ethnic and Taliban nationalism.

UNICEF’s Reaction

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is shocked by the horrific Taliban attack in Siwak-Shibar village of Daykundi province, where 11 people, including three children, were killed. UNICEF called the Taliban attack in this village a “horrific crime” and expressed sympathy to the victims’ families. UNICEF has written that this child support organization condemns all acts of violence against children in Afghanistan. The Children’s Fund has said that we call on all streams to fulfill their obligations under international law to protect children at all times. This organization said that every girl and boy in Afghanistan should be allowed to live in a peaceful and peaceful environment where they can grow and use their abilities.

UNAMA’s Reaction

The official representation of the United Nations in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has said that this organization is investigating the killing of children and civilians by the Taliban group in Siwak village of Daykundi province. UNAMA said in a tweet that it is trying to clarify the facts related to the recent incident in the village of Siwak-Shibar, Daykundi Province. This UN agency noted serious reports of civilian casualties, including the killing of eight people and children; this organization has said that it has entered into a dialogue with the Taliban for a factual investigation and the group’s response to this massacre in Daykundi province.

The Ongoing Crimes of the Taliban

This is not the first and the last crime of the Taliban group in Daykundi; Still, before this, there have been crimes by the Taliban in Daykundi, including the Taliban, who set fire to people’s houses and crops in the Pato district of this province. In 2021, after entering the Sar-e-Tagab area of Patu district, the Taliban started looting the property of the people, and the Taliban fighters began burning the houses and threshing wheat and fodder of the people. Nevertheless, on August 30, 2021, people of Pashtun descent from the Taliban group shelled and killed 13 previous government employees who were surrendering based on the general amnesty of the Taliban in Kahoor village of Khadir district of Daykundi province. A 14-year-old girl and a civilian are also included among the dead.

Amnesty International’s research stated videos and photos of this incident had been verified and confirmed, and the location of the massacre has been confirmed in the village of Kahoor. In this report, Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, said, “These executions prove that the Taliban are committing the same terrible crimes that they were known for committing during their previous rule in Afghanistan.” Ms. Agnes, Secretary-General of Amnesty International, said that “the Taliban must immediately stop these brutal acts of revenge and ensure that former government employees and their families can live safely in Afghanistan.

Asadullah Jafari “Pezhman” is a Translator, Columnist, and a Former Member of the Afghan National Army. He Mostly Writing and Translating on Afghanistan and the Middle East Issues.

Endnotes:

• https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/09/afghanistan-taliban-torture-and-execute-hazaras-in-targeted-attack-new-investigation/
• https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/10/afghanistan-13-hazara-killed-by-taliban-fighters-in-daykundi-province-new-investigation/
• https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/taliban-murders-entire-hazara-family-in-daikundi-afghanistan
• https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/10/22/afghanistan-taliban-forcibly-evict-minority-shia