The US And Western Countries Condemn Killings And Violence In Afghanistan, Taliban: This Is Slander, Not Justice!

Illustration of the Taliban special forces Battalion Badri 313. (Twitter/@Badri313Unit1)

JAKARTA - The United States and a group of Western countries including Germany, France, and Britain have expressed concern over reports of the killing and disappearance of former members of the Afghan security forces, after the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in August.

In a joint statement issued over the weekend, the 21 countries plus the European Union referred to reports of abuses documented by Human Rights Watch and others.

"We underline the alleged acts of serious human rights violations and are in contravention of the amnesty announced by the Taliban," read the statement, issued by the German Foreign Ministry, cited from Reuters December 6.

"Reported cases must be investigated promptly and transparently, those responsible must be held to account, and these measures must be clearly publicized as an immediate deterrent to further killings and disappearances," the report said.

The joint statement said, "We will continue to measure the Taliban by their actions".

The statement was issued by Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United States. Kingdom, Ukraine, and United States of America.

In response to this, Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Sayed Khosti rejected the charge of retaliatory killing, saying no evidence was presented.

"If there is evidence, it should be informed to us," he said in a video statement, pointing to the general amnesty announced by the Taliban government.

"We have had several cases of individual killings of ex-government members but these were due to personal enmity and we have arrested those involved. This is slander against the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, not justice," he argued.

To note, Human Rights Watch in a November 30 report stated that Taliban forces in Afghanistan have executed or forcibly disappeared more than 100 former police and intelligence officers since taking over the country on August 15, despite proclaiming an amnesty.

The Taliban's Interior Ministry has rejected the Human Rights Watch report, but said it would arrest anyone convicted of violent reprisals against ex-military members.

Facing a deep economic crisis following the sudden withdrawal of foreign aid as Western countries withdrew from Afghanistan, the Taliban has sought international support to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe, with more than half of the population facing starvation during the winter.