Over the past month, armed nomads have attacked parts of the Hazara-populated districts in the provinces of Ghazni and Maidan Wardak. Residents of these areas report that the nomads, in addition to destroying their crops, have engaged in shooting and beating local people. In one instance, they claimed ownership of individuals’ private lands.
Several residents of Nawur and Malistan districts in Ghazni province, as well as Behsud district in Maidan Wardak province, told the Hasht-e Subh Daily that following the attacks by armed nomads, people’s fields were deliberately trampled and destroyed.
According to reports, on May 3, 2024, several armed nomads attacked the village of “Aghjam Payeen” in Behsud district, Maidan Wardak province. After beating local residents, they claimed ownership of the agricultural lands of the locals.
These armed nomads demanded that the locals pay rent for the past 20 years of land use; otherwise, they would face severe punishment.
Additionally, last week, armed nomads attacked the Bahai area of Nawur district in Ghazni province, destroying local people’s crops.
Residents of the affected areas who have complained about the harassment by the nomads say they approached local Taliban authorities in these districts, but the officials directly supported the nomads and refused to expel them from residential areas.
Some residents of Nawur district in Ghazni province report that the nomads intentionally destroy their crops and instead of moving to highland pastures, they set up their tents next to the agricultural lands.
Ali Yawar, a resident of Nawur district, said: “We face this problem every year. Our issue with the nomads has increased year by year. The nomads have a defined route that they should follow in the highlands, but for the past two years, they have deliberately come near our homes and brought their flocks through our fields, trampling everything.”
Moreover, sources in the Malistan district report that when residents tried to prevent the nomads from passing through their wheat fields, they were shot at by the nomads, resulting in three people being injured and many livestock of the locals going missing. This incident occurred in the Miradina area in the center of this district.
Additionally, a resident of the second part of Behsud district in Maidan Wardak, speaking anonymously, said: “We have no peace day or night because of the nomads. They ignore the vast mountains and plains and set up tents right next to us. We take turns guarding our crops. At night, we are forced to stay awake until morning to watch over our fields.”
Since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, nomads have, with the group’s support, claimed ownership of lands in several Hazara-populated areas in the central provinces of Afghanistan, sometimes forcing people to relocate and pay exorbitant fines.
Although the Taliban announced last year that they had formed a commission to resolve the conflict between nomads and villagers, it is reported that the unilateral decisions of this commission in favor of the nomads and forcing people to pay huge compensations have led to public disillusionment with the commission and reluctance to refer their cases to it.
It is noteworthy that the unresolved conflict between nomads and villagers has long been ongoing in central Afghanistan, intensifying every spring and summer with the nomads’ incursions. Some residents of areas with recurring conflicts with the nomads state that life has become difficult for locals due to the harassment by the nomads since the Taliban’s rise to power.
You can read the Persian version of this daily report here:
هجوم کوچیهای مسلح بر مناطق مرکزی؛ تخریب کشتزارها و شلیک بهروی مردم | روزنامه ۸صبح
