The Taliban would like the world to believe that they are a changed lot this time around but their brutal acts of violence leading to the takeover of Afghanistan capital Kabul now being revealed have blown the lid off the lies. A detailed investigation by Amnesty International has found out that it was the Taliban fighters who had massacred nine men from the ethnic Hazara minority group after taking control of Ghazni province last month.

Amnesty said that its on-the-ground researchers spoke to eyewitnesses who gave harrowing accounts of the killings, which took place between July 4-6 in the village of Mundarakht, Malistan district. Six of the men were shot and three were tortured to death, including one man who was strangled with his own scarf and had his arm muscles sliced off.

The investigation report said that the brutal killings likely represent a tiny fraction of the total death toll inflicted by the Taliban to date, as the group has cut mobile phone service in many of the areas they have recently captured, controlling which photographs and videos are then shared from these regions.

"One man, 45-year-old Wahed Qaraman, was taken from his home by Taliban fighters who broke his legs and arms, shot him in the right leg, pulled his hair out, and beat his face with a blunt object. Another man, 63-year-old Jaffar Rahimi, was severely beaten and accused of working for the Afghan government, after cash was found in his pocket. The Taliban strangled him to death with his own scarf," the investigation revealed.

Others too were also ambushed and executed with many bodies dumped next to a nearby creek.

"The cold-blooded brutality of these killings is a reminder of the Taliban's past record, and a horrifying indicator of what Taliban rule may bring. We urge the UN Security Council to adopt an emergency resolution demanding that the Taliban respect international human rights law, and ensure the safety of all Afghans regardless of their ethnic background or religious beliefs," said Agnes Callamard, the Secretary General of Amnesty International.

Hazaras may face another genocide under Taliban . The Hazara people have been the victims of massacres which were committed by the Taliban and al-Qaeda.don’t let the history repeats itself #Afghanistan #kabul #hazara #TalibanTerror #afghanistanswomen #FreeAfghanistan pic.twitter.com/phONX1eWj6

— nz_afg (@nz_afg) August 20, 2021

Target killings, beheading, kidnapping, suicide and orchestrated attacks are not new to the Hazaras of Afghanistan who have been slaughtered by the Taliban and Islamic State-Khorasan Province (IS-PK) for practicing Shiite faith of Islam.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has said that the civilian casualties in Afghanistan in the first half of 2021 reached record levels when international military forces began their withdrawal and the fighting intensified following the Taliban's offensive.

The main cause of civilian casualties – the Taliban and ISIL-KP use of non-suicide Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) – amounted to 38 per cent of all civilian casualties, nearly triple that recorded for the same period in 2020.

UNAMA also recorded a resurgence of deliberate sectarian-motivated attacks against the Shia Muslim religious minority, most of whom also belong to the Hazara ethnic minority, nearly all claimed by ISIL-KP. In total, between January 1 and June 30 this year, UNAMA documented 20 incidents targeting Shia/Hazara, resulting in 500 civilian casualties (143 killed and 357 injured).

Before the July massacre, there were a string of non-suicide IED attacks and shootings, including at least eight IEDs in May-June alone that targeted buses or similar vehicles carrying members of the Hazara community.

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