Taliban fighters in Baghlan province have committed war crimes by adapting forced displacement strategy. Several families and residents have been forced to leave their homes and evacuate the villages.
The Taliban in Baghlan province have forcibly evicted Andarab residents, according to reports. In the latest case, according to the Taliban ultimatum, about 40 families have been forcibly displaced from the Pul-e-Hesar district in the Andarab region of Baghlan province. Sources say that after the expulsion of these families, the Taliban made their houses military checkpoints and started harassing the people.
Residents of Andarab told Hasht-e Subh that the Taliban have been committing “the worst crimes” in the region. According to the residents, the Taliban have shot dead many civilians since the beginning of spring. The locals say the Taliban have detained and tortured farmers, shepherds and manual laborers. Locals stress that they are fed up with the “oppression” of the group’s forces.
“We have not been safe since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan,” a number of Andarab residents, who spoke to told Hasht-e Subh on condition of identity confidentiality.
Meanwhile, some human rights experts view the Taliban’s behavior and tactics adopted is to suppress the opposing factions and consider it as a clear violation of human rights and state that forced displacement violates human values and patriotism. According to them, forced displacement in international human rights documents is one of the anti-human rights behaviors and its perpetrators should be prosecuted based on these documents.
Forced displacement is condemned in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. These international human rights institutions state that forced migration is a crime against humanity. Article 7 of the Rome Statute criminalizes forced displacement as part of a systematic attack on a civilian population.
Hasht-e Subh reporter has interviewed people who are forced to flee Andarab due to the Taliban threat. The findings show that all the victims are civilians and have livestock and agricultural profession with not connection to any anti Taliban resistance group. According to sources, in addition to forcing the families to flee, the Taliban have set deadlines for a number of others to leave their areas as soon as possible.
Those who have been forcibly displaced from their areas in the Baghlan province say that they have left their homes with empty hand. They have experienced torture and humiliation by the Taliban rebels.
“It was evening,” Shamsullah (a pseudonym) told Hasht-e Subh. “The Taliban came. I had just prayed. One of the Taliban fighters told me to leave the area soon. The house was full of children, the women were all screaming and moaning. We begged for mercy and kindness, but no attention was paid to our grieves and pains. The children women were crying and screaming, but the rebels ordered us to leave the house. They kicked everyone out of the house empty-handed. We are poor, helpless people; we have nothing to do with any resistance groups. The Taliban has done little against the National Resistance Front (NRF), taking revenge on villagers. Now we are displaced. May God help us,” he added.
Disappointed, the man called on the media to help reflect their situation: “We urge the media to make our voices heard,” he stressed.
Another person who was forcibly evicted from his home by the Taliban narrates a similar story. “I was busy with weeds,” he said in a trembling voice, fearing the Taliban did not want to be named in the report. “My son ran and said, ‘Come home, the Taliban is in the house.’ I do not understand how I got home. When I got home, I saw that the Taliban had driven everyone out of the house, saying, ‘Get out of here soon, you are rebellious.’ One of them told me not to talk too much; otherwise, I would gun you down.”
The IDPs say the Taliban have warned them not to speak to the media; otherwise, “face the consequences.” He says they have been told not to talk to anyone if they want to live.
Each of these displaced people has bitter and painful stories. They say they have experienced a lot of suffering and pain. But because they are still accessible and Taliban can track them down very easily hesitate to speak out in front of the media.
A list made available by Hasht-e Subh shows that all the displaced persons are from the same district. They say they have been humiliated and insulted by the Taliban while leaving their homes. The list shows that the Taliban have evicted most of the civilians with profession in agriculture fields, livestock husbandry and manual labor activities.
Local sources in Andrab, Baghlan province, say all of victims are transported by Taliban vehicles from the Deh Salah district. According to sources, the Taliban have told these people that they can go to any province, but they have no right to return to Deh Salah.
Meanwhile, Sebghatullah Ahmadi, a spokesman for the NRF, has also tweeted accusing the Taliban of “ethnic cleansing” in Andarab. “The Taliban has displaced families, mostly women, children and the elderly,” he claims.
Sources told Hasht-e Subh that on Tuesday, several families were forcibly evicted from Deh Salah district by the Taliban. So far, details of these people have not been provided to Hasht-e Subh.
The Taliban has not responded to the forced eviction of dozens of families, but locals say the group is constantly ordering forced displacement. The Taliban had previously said that only those who are armed and “disrupt the security” would be dealt with harshly.
[highlight color=”gray”]Hasht-e Subh Persian[/highlight]