Daily US Times: The United Nations (UN) has condemned the Taliban for what its “increasingly violent response” to protests, weeks after the group took control of Afghanistan.
Taliban killed four people during recent protests, according to the UN.
Demonstrations have taken place across Afghanistan, including capital Kabul, since the fall of the country on 15 August, demanding respect for women’s rights and greater freedoms.
Taliban fighters have live ammunition, used batons and whips against protesters, the UN said in its report.
In a press statement, a spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned Taliba’s actions saying: “We call on the Taliban to immediately cease the use of force towards, and the arbitrary detention of, those exercising their right to peaceful assembly and the journalists covering the protests.”
Ravina Shamdasani said in a press briefing that it is crucial the group listen to Afghan women and men on the streets “during this time of great uncertainty”
In August, Taliban soldiers swept across Afghanistan, capturing key provincial centres and eventually Kabul itself in less than two weeks.
The United States then led an airlift from Kabul’s international airport, evacuating more than 120,000 people before pulling out its own military on 31 August.
The Taliban takeover follows 20 years of US military operations in Afghanistan after American and allied troops ousted the group from power in 2001 following the 9/11 attacks.
The US will mark the 20th anniversary of those attacks on Saturday.
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