Taliban killings of ex-soldiers condemned by the West

Human rights groups have reported that the Taliban have been conducting “summary killings” of former members of the Afghan security forces, leading western countries to make a statement condemning the actions and demanding quick investigations. The US has led the calls to denounce the Taliban killings as a breach of the amnesty they had promised.

“We are deeply concerned by reports of summary killings and enforced disappearances of former members of the Afghan security forces as documented by Human Rights Watch and others,” read a statement by the US, EU, Australia, Britain, Japan and others, which was released by the state department on Saturday.

“We underline that the alleged actions constitute serious human rights abuses and contradict the Taliban’s announced amnesty.”

The Human Rights Watch group released a report detailing the executions or enforced disappearances of 47 former members of the Afghan national security forces, other military personnel, police and intelligence agents. These dead and missing had either surrendered or had been taken by the Taliban between August and October.

The Taliban have been back in power in Afghanistan since August when the US-Backed government in Kabal collapsed and the military fell. The new Taliban leaders are trying to be respected on the world stage by announcing this version of their regime to be different. According to reports, however, the Taliban killings and brutal punishments for dissent have continued.

The countries who have signed the documents calling the new leaders out have said: “We will continue to measure the Taliban by their actions.”

“Reported cases must be investigated promptly and in a transparent manner, those responsible must be held accountable, and these steps must be clearly publicised as an immediate deterrent to further killings and disappearances,” the countries – which include Canada, New Zealand, Romania, Ukraine and several European nations – said in their statement.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article, do remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories and remember, you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.