The United Nations has received 🍬“credible allegations” that more than 100 former members of the Afghan government, its security forces and those who worked with international troops have been killed since the Taliban took over the country August 1𝄹5, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says.
In a report obtained Sunday by The Associated Press, Guterres said that “more than two-thirds” of the victims were alleged to result from extrajudicial kill🌠ings by the Taliban or its affiliates, despite the Taliban's announcement of “general amnesties” for those affiliated with the former government and US-led coalition forces.
The UN po☂litical mission in Afghanistan also received “credible allegations of extrajudicial killings of at least 50 individuals suspected of affiliation with ISIL-KP,” the Islamic State extremist group operating in Afghanistan, Guterres said in the report to UN Security Council.
He added that despite Taliban assurances, the UN political mission has also received credible allegations “of enforced disappearances and other violations impacting🉐 the right to life and physical integrity” of former government and coalition members.
Guterres said human rights defenders and media workers also continue “to come under attack, intimidation, harassment, arbitrary arrest, ill-treatme🌺nt and k🐽illings.”
Eight civil society actꦆivists were killed, including three by the Taliban and three by Islamic State extremists, and 10 were 🥃subjected to temporary arrests, beatings and threats by the Taliban, he said.
Two journaliಞsts were killed — one by IS — and two were in🎉jured by unknown armed men.
The se👍cretary-general said the UN missions documented 44 cases of temporary arrests, beatings and threats of intimidation, 42 of them by the Taliban.
The Taliban overran most of Afgha🀅nistan as US and NATꩵO forces were in the final stages of their chaotic withdrawal from the country after 20 years.
They ꧅entered Kabul on August 15 without any resista༒nce from the Afghan army or the country's president, Ashraf Ghani, who fled.
The Taliban initially promised a general amnesty for those linke🔴d to the former government and international forces, and tolerance and inclusiveness toward women and ethnic minorities.
However, the Taliban have renewed restr꧟iction𒁃s on women and appointed an all-male government, which have met with dismay by the international community.
Afghanistan's aid-dependent economy was already stumbling👍 when the Taliban seized power, and the international commꦏunity froze Afghanistan's assets abroad and halted economic support, recalling the Taliban's reputation for brutality during its 1996-2001 rule and refusal to educate girls and allow women to work.
Guterres said: “The situation in Afghanistan rem🧸ains precarious and uncertain six months after the Taliban takeover as the multiple political, socio-economic and humanitarian shocks reverberate across the country.”
He said Afghanistan today faces multiple crises: a growing humanitarian emergency, a massive economic c🐬ontraction, the crippling of its banking and financial systems, the worst droughꦑt in 27 years, and the Taliban's failure to form an inclusive government and restore the rights of girls to education and women to work.
“An estimated 22.8 million people are prဣojected to be in `crisis' and `emergency' levels of food insecurity until March 2022,” the UN chief said.
“Almost 9 million of these will be at `emergency' levels of food insecurity -– the highest number in the world. Half of all children under five are facing acute ♉malnutrition.”
On a pos♐itive note, Guterres reported “a significant decline” in the overall number of conflict-related security incidents as well as civilian casualties since the Taliban takeover.
The UN recorded 985 security-related incidents between August 19 and Decem🍷ber 31, a 91 per cent decrease compared to the same period in 2020, he said.
The eastern, central, southe🐻rn and western regions accounted for 75 per cent of all recorded incidents, he said, with Nangarhar, Kabul, Kunar and Kandahar ranking as the most conflict-affected provinces.
Despite the reduction in viole𓆏nce, Guterres said the Taliban face several challenges, including rising attacks against their members.
“S🔥ome are attributed to the National Resistance Front comprising some Afghan opposition figures, and those associated with the former government,” he said. “These groups have been primarily operating in Panjshir Province and Baghlan's Andarab District but have not made significant territorial inroads” though “armed clashes are regularly documente🐻d, along with forced displacement and communication outages.”
Guterres said intra-Taliban tensions along ethnic lines and competition over jobs have ღalso resulted in violence, pointing to armed clashes on November 4 between between Taliban forces in Bamyan city.
In the report, the secretary-general proposed priorities for the UN political mission in the current environment, urgeܫd international support to prevent widespread hunger and the country's economic collapse, and urged the Taliban to guarantee women's rights and human rig𝕴hts.
