KABUL: The US and British embassies in Kabul said the Taliban may have committed war crimes by carrying out revenge murders of civilians in a town in southern Afghanistan recently captured near the Pakistan border.
The US mission tweeted a statement accusing the Taliban of killing dozens of civilians in the area of Spin Boldak in southern Kandahar province, the scene of heavy fighting. The statement also was tweeted by the British embassy.
“These murders could constitute war crimes; they must be investigated & those Taliban fighters or commanders responsible held accountable,” the US embassy tweeted.
In a second tweet, it added: “The Taliban’s leadership must be held responsible for the crimes of their fighters. If you cannot control your fighters now, you have no business in governance later.”
(2/2) The Taliban’s leadership must be held responsible for the crimes of their fighters. If you cannot control your fighters now, you have no business in governance later. Read more here: https://t.co/jKiovuozJK
— U.S. Embassy Kabul (@USEmbassyKabul) August 2, 2021
The tweets, accompanied by calls for a ceasefire, stepped up the United States’ public criticism of the group as US troops withdraw and the Taliban presses a nationwide offensive.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, briefing reporters on a new refugee program for US-affiliated Afghans, called reports of the Taliban committing atrocities “deeply disturbing and totally unacceptable.”
READ MORE: US govt watchdog concerned over Taliban assassinations of Afghan pilots
State Department spokesman Ned Price said the Taliban are responsible for most of the “outrageous and atrocious acts of violence” in Afghanistan. “The world will not accept a government in Afghanistan that doesn’t respect basic human rights,” he said, referring to the prospects of the Taliban reimposing its rule by force or joining an interim power-sharing arrangement as part of a peace deal.
Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban negotiating team member based in Doha, told a new agency that tweets containing the accusations were “baseless reports.”
The insurgents gained control last month of the strategic area of Spin Boldak, which lies at a border and trade crossing with Pakistan, and heavy fighting has taken place since as Afghan forces try to recapture the area.
The diplomatic condemnations come after Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission also said Taliban fighters had indulged in revenge killings in Spin Boldak.
READ MORE: Afghanistan may become ‘pariah state’ in case of Taliban takeover: Blinken
“After taking over Spin Boldak district, the Taliban chased and identified past and present government officials and killed these people who had no combat role in the conflict,” the group said, adding at least 40 people had been killed by the Taliban.
Meanwhile, Taliban fighters continued to assault at least three provincial capitals – Lashkar Gah, Kandahar and Herat – after a weekend of heavy fighting that saw thousands of civilians flee.
The war has intensified since early May, with the Taliban capitalising on the final stages of the withdrawal of the US-led foreign forces after almost two decades in the country.
