Herat Residents Delay Burial of Hazara Victims in Protest Against Targeted Violence

Khalili’s statement comes in the wake of a recent attack in Herat that targeted the Hazara community.

In his statement addressing the Herat incident, Khalili highlighted the Taliban's efforts to mask the ongoing violence against Hazaras to maintain their narrative of stability in the country. He strongly condemned these targeted attacks and urged the Taliban not to remain indifferent to such "brutal and targeted killings."

Khalili, with his experience as the former head of the High Peace Council in the previous Afghan government, called upon the Taliban to take decisive and effective actions to safeguard the security of all Afghan people, particularly the Hazaras. He warned of serious consequences if these killings continue to be ignored.

Khalili appealed to the United Nations to form an impartial international team to investigate the massacres targeting the Hazaras. He stressed the urgency for the UN to intervene, urging them to implement measures to halt these attacks and ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.

The context of Khalili's statement is a recent tragic incident in Jebrael township of Herat city, where unknown assailants killed at least six individuals, including two Shia clerics. This event marks another in a series of violent acts against the Hazara community in Afghanistan.

This violent incident tragically claimed the lives of at least six members of the Hazara community, including two Shia clerics, in the Jebrael area of Herat.

In a statement released on social media platform X on Saturday, the embassy vehemently condemned the attack, highlighting the loss of six individuals, amongst them two respected Shia clerics. The attack occurred on Friday afternoon in the Jebrael district, specifically between Shuhada town and Kore Melli town.

Sources indicate that the victims were returning from a memorial service for a Hazara cleric when they were ambushed and fatally shot in the Khoshroud area, located in the Injil district of Herat province. The aftermath of this tragedy saw Herat's residents protesting vehemently, carrying the deceased's bodies through the streets whilst raising their voices against the continued targeting of Hazaras.

This recent incident adds to a worrying trend in Herat, where four Hazara clerics have fallen victim to armed attacks over the past six weeks. The Taliban's Ministry of Interior has publicly decried the civilian deaths in Herat, labelling the event a "terrorist" act and acknowledging the loss of six "innocent compatriots." However, there has been no official statement regarding an investigation or efforts to apprehend those responsible.

In a strong response, the Afghanistan Freedom Front condemned the Herat killings as an ongoing assault on the Hazara and Shia populations in Afghanistan. The group has appealed to the international community, including the United Nations and the International Criminal Court, urging immediate intervention to halt these crimes against humanity and prevent further acts of genocide in the country.

The Taliban's defence minister warned that those who, according to him, are trying "to create chaos and disrupt security”, that "unnecessary propaganda will end up harming you”.

Radio Television Afghanistan, controlled by the Taliban, on Friday published a video of Yaqoob’s speech at the graduation ceremony of the group's special forces.

In the video, Yaqoob implicitly reacts to the regional meetings and statements of the Taliban’s oppositions regarding the increase in the guerrilla attacks.

Taliban’s defence minister said, "To those organising gatherings with the intent to undermine the country's security or create chaos, know that the Taliban leadership has granted you pardon, and the arms of the security forces are open to you.”

He asked the opposition groups to return to their country and take part in its development. He also asked the opposing parties to stand by the Taliban’s armed forces because according to him they are "genuine, Islamic and national forces and they will never betray you”.

Yaqoob, who is the son of Mullah Mohammad Omar, the founder of the Taliban, asked the opposition forces of the group to stop "propaganda and ineffective statements". Because according to him, it will not have a good result and it will cost them.

These statements have been made even though the opposition fronts of the Taliban have increased their guerrilla attacks on Taliban outposts during the past weeks.

Over the last 10 days, Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) has announced 14 guerilla attacks on Taliban positions in the capital and various provinces of the country.

According to AFF, these attacks were carried out in Kabul, Kapisa, Balkh, Baghlan, Laghman, Takhar and Parwan provinces. The front claimed that at least 30 Taliban members were killed and 16 others were wounded as a result.

Meanwhile, during the past weeks, Moscow and Dushanbe hosted two meetings with the presence of prominent anti-Taliban figures.

The incident, which also left three others injured, occurred around 2 PM on Friday. These individuals were ambushed while returning from a religious ceremony in the Khoshrud area of Injil district.

The attackers reportedly halted the victims' vehicle before opening fire. Among the deceased were participants in a ceremony for Eid Mohammad Etimadi, a religious scholar who himself was a victim of a similar attack on October 22.

This latest attack is part of a disturbing trend of increased violence against the Hazara community and Shia Muslims in Afghanistan. On November 23, Rajab Akhlaqi and Khadim Hussain Hedayati, members of the Herat Shia Ulema Council, were killed in a similar manner by motorcycle-riding gunmen in Jibrail. Both were originally from Lal wa Sarjangal districts in Ghor province.

The escalating attacks on Shiites and Hazaras have sparked widespread concern. Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights for Afghanistan, has called for a thorough and independent investigation into these assassinations, in line with international standards, and for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

According to the report, punishments have been issued for accusations such as illicit relationships, adultery, and theft.

AW, which monitors the human rights situation in Afghanistan, in a report on Thursday wrote that based on the declarations of the Taliban Supreme Court, in 417 cases, except for two people who were executed on charges of murder, the rest were punished in the form of flogging.

According to the Taliban, the implementation of Sharia punishments in 22 provinces of Afghanistan shows the extent of issuing sentences and their implementation by the group.

AW says that while the Taliban has often made the announced punishments publicly and has executed several sentences in public, many of these punishments are carried out under severe restrictions and in small spaces.

According to the report, due to the fact that the Taliban does not allow the photography and recording of these punishments, there is very limited visual evidence of the execution of these punishments.

Countries and human rights organisations have repeatedly reacted and criticised these punishments in Afghanistan.

Earlier this year, UNAMA called the Taliban's use of corporal punishment a violation of international law. They stated that it violated the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment.

According to the AW report, more than half of these punishments, including the first execution, were carried out in December 2022. In another instance, the Taliban publicly flogged nine people accused of sodomy and theft in a football stadium in Kandahar city.

There are more recorded cases of punishing men than women. According to AW, it documented 57 cases of punishment for women compared to 220 cases of punishment for men. Most of the punishments involved flogging.

Also, based on the findings of AW, between December 2022 and June 2023, nine cases of Qisas [retribution] were announced, which two were executed and seven others were pardoned.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has also confirmed the implementation of a stoning sentence in February.