On 19 July, the Taliban abducted and killed two sons of former Kandahar provincial council member Fida Mohammad Afghan. Religious and ethnic minorities were at particular risk.ĭuring its offensive and following its takeover, the Taliban carried out reprisal and extrajudicial killings of people associated with the former administration, including members of the ANDSF. The Taliban and other armed actors were responsible for numerous targeted killings throughout the year, including of human rights defenders, women activists, humanitarian and health workers, journalists, former government officials and security force members. Three separate attacks took place in October on Eid Gah Mosque in Kabul and two Shia-Hazara mosques in the cities of Kandahar and Kunduz, reportedly killing dozens and injuring hundreds of others. 1 On 26 August, a suicide attack outside Kabul airport carried out by the armed group Islamic State – Khorasan Province (IS-K) resulted in at least 380 casualties, mostly Afghans seeking evacuation. A bomb attack on Sayed-ul-Shuhada High School in West Kabul on 8 May killed or injured more than 230 people, nearly all girls. Non-state groups deliberately targeted civilians and civilian objects throughout the year. The US Department of Defense later admitted acting in error and offered financial compensation to the victims’ relatives. On 29 August, a US drone strike killed 10 members of one family in Kabul, including seven children. More than two-thirds (68%) were attributed to the Taliban and other non-state actors and 25% to Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) and other pro-government forces. By June, 5,183 civilian deaths or injuries had been recorded, including 2,409 women and children. According to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, civilian casualties reached record levels in the first half of the year, sharply increasing in May as international military forces began to withdraw. Government forces under the leadership of President Ghani, as well as non-state actors, carried out indiscriminate attacks with improvised explosive devices and air strikes, killing and injuring thousands of civilians. Indiscriminate attacks and unlawful killings In December, the UN warned that some 23 million people faced acute food insecurity and hunger, including more than 3 million children at risk of death from severe malnutrition. The already precarious humanitarian situation deteriorated further in the second half of the year due to the conflict, drought, the Covid-19 pandemic and an economic crisis exacerbated by the suspension of foreign aid, the freezing of government assets, and international sanctions against the Taliban. Some 123,000 people were airlifted in chaotic conditions from Kabul airport, including thousands of Afghan nationals at risk of reprisals from the Taliban. In early September, the Taliban announced an interim government.Īn evacuation operation accompanied the final withdrawal of US and NATO forces, which was brought forward to 31 August in the face of Taliban gains. A subsequent Taliban military offensive overran the provinces and reached the capital, Kabul, on 15 August, causing the government to collapse and President Ghani to flee the country. On 14 April, US President Joe Biden announced that remaining US troops in Afghanistan would be withdrawn by 11 September. The conflict in Afghanistan took a dramatic turn with the withdrawal of all international troops, the collapse of the government, and the takeover of the country by Taliban forces. Access to healthcare, already severely compromised by the pandemic, was further undermined by the suspension of international aid. Rights to freedom of assembly and expression were drastically curtailed by the Taliban. The limited progress made towards improving women’s rights was sharply reversed under Taliban rule. Thousands of people, predominantly Shia Hazaras, were forcibly evicted. A wave of reprisal killings was unleashed during the Taliban takeover of the country. Human rights defenders, women activists, journalists, health and humanitarian workers, and religious and ethnic minorities were among those targeted by the Taliban and non-state actors. Indiscriminate and targeted killings reached record levels. Parties to the conflict in Afghanistan continued to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes, and other serious human rights violations and abuses with impunity.
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