NATO to speed up evacuations amid reports of Taliban violence
NATO has pledged to speed up its evacuation efforts in Afghanistan amid reports of brutal killings and intimidation by Taliban forces.
A NATO official said on Friday that more than 18,000 people had been flown out of Kabul since the Taliban took over last week, but that allied forces were working to redouble their efforts over the weekend.
At least 12 people have died from gunshot wounds and stampedes at Kabul airport since Sunday as thousands of Afghans make a desperate attempt to flee from a future under Taliban rule.
Despite Taliban assurances that those seeking to leave the country would be granted “safe passage”, there are reports of militant fighters blocking the gates to the airport, letting few through, and beating and shooting at some who tried to pass.
The scramble to evacuate Western forces and their allies comes amid reports of intimidation and violence by Taliban forces.
The hard-line Islamist group has tried to reassure Afghans that there will be “no revenge” on western allies after seizing power last week – using its first speech to promise peace at home and urge the world to look past its history of violence and repression.
However, a leaked UN document revealed that Taliban fighters are going door to door threatening to take family members of Afghans who worked with UK and US forces hostage, unless the targets surrender themselves.
The document by RHIPTO Norwegian Center for Global Analyses , which provides intelligence to the UN, said: “The Taliban are intensifying the hunt-down of all individuals and collaborators with the former regime, and if unsuccessful, target and arrest the families and punish them according to their own interpretation of Sharia law.”
A separate report by Amnesty International revealed that Taliban fighters killed nine ethnic Hazara men after taking control of Ghazni province last month.
The Hazara community is Afghanistan’s third largest ethnic group. They mainly practise Shia Islam and have faced long-term discrimination and persecution in predominantly Sunni Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The killings, which took place between 4 and 6 July in the village of Mundarakht, Malistan district, saw six men shot and three others tortured to death.
Amnesty’s Secretary-General Agnès Callamard said: “The cold-blooded brutality of these killings is a reminder of the Taliban’s past record, and a horrifying indicator of what Taliban rule may bring.”
There are also reports of the Taliban carrying out organised searches for journalists, both in Kabul and in the provinces.
According to Germany’s Deutsche Welle, Taliban fighters are hunting a journalist who works for the media company and have shot dead one member of his family and seriously injured another.