Aug 03,2021: Afghan forces battled to stop a first major city from falling to the Taliban as the United States and the United Kingdom accused the group of “massacring civilians” in a Kandahar town they recently captured near the Pakistan border.
“The Taliban massacred dozens of civilians in revenge killings. These murders could constitute war crimes,” the embassies of Washington and London said in separate tweets on Monday regarding the alleged atrocities committed in Spin Boldak.
“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.”
Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban negotiating team member based in Doha, told Reuters news agency that tweets containing the accusations were “baseless reports”.
The US and UK diplomatic condemnations come after Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission also said Taliban fighters had indulged in revenge killings in Spin Boldak.
“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 20 years in the country.
