Nearly 400 Civilians Have Died Since Taliban Took Control Of Afghanistan, UN: Human Rights Situation Is Very Worrying

Kepala HAM PBB Michelle Bachelet. (Wikimedia Commons/Government of Chile)

JAKARTA - Nearly 400 civilians have been killed in attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban's takeover, more than 80 percent of attacks carried out by Islamic State-affiliated groups, a UN report shows, underscoring the scale of the insurgency facing the new ruler.

It is the first major human rights report since the Taliban seized power from the former US-backed government in August, sparking concerns in the West about a broader setback for the rights of women, journalists, and others.

The report, covering the period from August 2021 to the end of February, said some 397 civilians were killed, most of them in a series of attacks by the Islamic State group Khorasan (ISIS-K).

More than 50 people with suspected ties to extreme militant groups have died in the same period, he said, with some being tortured and beheaded then dumped by the roadside.

"The human rights situation for many Afghans is very concerning," Michelle Bachelet, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a speech introducing the report to the human rights body in Geneva, Switzerland.

ISIS-K, which first emerged in eastern Afghanistan in late 2014, is thought to have spread after the Taliban takeover and has been blamed for several suicide attacks in recent months, including one at Kabul airport last August.

In the same speech, Bachelet said the Taliban rulers had restricted women's rights and freedoms. He called for women to be allowed to 'fully participate' in public life.

At the same time, Bachelet also referred to the "disturbing number of cases of enforced disappearances" of activists and protesters, expressing concern about restrictions on freedom of expression.

"I remain concerned about the progressive erosion of civic space," he said.

Under their previous government from 1996 to 2001, the hardline Taliban banned women and girls from attending education. However, they say things have changed since the takeover.

The Geneva-based Human Rights Council will appoint a special rapporteur on Afghanistan to investigate alleged abuses by the Taliban and others at the end of the current month-long session.

US Ambassador Sheba Crocker told the Human Rights Council on Monday this would be an "important mechanism for documenting abuses" and urged the Taliban to work closely with his team.