A research institution based in the United Kingdom, after examining the photos and videos of the Taliban massacre in Panjshir, says that the group has shot dead 27 prisoners in this province.
The findings of the research project “Afghan Witnesses – Shahid Afghan”, whose report was published on Tuesday, October 18, indicate that the Taliban captured 27 men in Panjshir province last month and then shot them dead.
The British-based non-profit Intelligence Resistance Center, which collects and analyzes information on human rights abuses in Afghanistan, reviewed the videos and photos, which are mostly published by members of the Taliban group. One of the videos reviewed and verified in this research project shows five men who were blindfolded and handcuffed by the Taliban.
According to the Associated Press news agency, Taliban fighters shoot at these men for 20 seconds and shout with joy chanting the slogan of Allah Akbar.”
The researchers of this center confirm that the Taliban have used brutal methods against their opposition forces and also the supporters of these forces.
Afghan Witness team leader David Osborne said the report findings are the “clearest example” of the Taliban’s “organized cleansing” of resistance fighters.
Osborne said: “Using open source methods, we have discovered facts about the systematic and mass execution of a group of men in the Panjshir Valley in mid-September.” He added: “At the time of the execution, the arrested persons were in prison and did not pose any threat to the Taliban.”
It is stated in this report that as a result of the analysis of dozens of image sources from social media – mainly films and photos – it has been conclusively proven that 10 other men were also killed by Taliban fighters in the Panjshir Valley district. The report also adds that in this research project, 17 other illegal killings were also confirmed from more images on social media, all of which showed dead men with their hands tied.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman of the Taliban, had confirmed that the Taliban had killed 40 fighters of the resistance front and captured more than 100 people in Panjshir, and Enayatullah Khwarazmi, the spokesman of the Taliban Ministry of Defense has said that a team is assigned to investigate the films published on social networks.
Ali Maisam Nazari, the head of foreign relations of the National Resistance Front, said: “The Taliban have committed a war crime by killing the prisoners of war who surrendered to them, and the films are proof of this.”
Similarly, the report of “Afghan Witness” also states that it has reliable evidence that 30 more people have been killed as a result of last month’s Taliban attack against “resistance fighters” in Panjshir.
