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Video appearing to show Afghan troops brutality sparks outrage

MenInG

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ps" dir="rtl">داسې ظلم یو ځای برما کې وشو بل د کابل د ادارې عسکر وکړ،زیات به څه نه لیکم ویډیو وګورئ او قضاوت وکړئ.<br>نوټ: ویډیو کې د عسکرو څیرې لیدل کیږي که چا وپیژندل، طالبانو ته یې ورمعارفي کړئ.<a href="https://twitter.com/Dr_Daud_Miraki?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Dr_Daud_Miraki</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SaeedKhosty?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SaeedKhosty</a><a href="https://twitter.com/ashrafghani?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ashrafghani</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/nunnasia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nunnasia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ShafiOriakhil?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ShafiOriakhil</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Zerka_M?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Zerka_M</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/zalandfaizm?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@zalandfaizm</a> <a href="https://t.co/hHwIFgllYG">pic.twitter.com/hHwIFgllYG</a></p>— Naseeb zadran / نصیب ځدراڼ (@NaseebZadran0) <a href="https://twitter.com/NaseebZadran0/status/1293772849501675520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 13, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Authorities in Afghanistan ordered an investigation on Thursday after a video circulated online that appeared to show a group of Afghan troops desecrating the bodies of Taliban fighters.

The two-minute clip, which quickly went viral on social media, surfaced ahead of expected peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban following Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's announcement to release the final batch of Taliban prisoners agreed as part of a US-Taliban deal.

The video, which AFP could not immediately verify, shows a man in military uniform using an axe to smash the heads and faces of what appeared to be two dead Taliban fighters.

Other bodies are seen nearby, and the sound of laughter can be heard as a group of men in uniform watch.

The Taliban said the video was filmed in Zabul province in the country's south and that government forces had treated the dead fighters "barbarically".

Afghan government orders investigation

The ministry of defence said it had ordered a probe into the video showing "what appears to be some security forces members acting inappropriately with a number of dead bodies".

"If verified that the violators are members of the ANA (Afghan National Army), they will be dealt with," the ministry said in a statement.

The desecration of corpses in Afghanistan's war has been a recurrent issue, with several videos emerging over the past 20 years, including one in 2011 showing a group of US marines urinating on three blood-soaked bodies.

That video sparked outrage around the world prompting an investigation and criminal charges.

The latest clip comes as Kabul is set to release about 400 Taliban prisoners ahead of peace talks with the armed group, which has fought US-led forces since it was removed from power in 2001.

Kabul has already freed about 4,500 Taliban prisoners, while the armed group have released about 1,000 Afghan security personnel as part of the February deal signed between the US and the Taliban in the Qatari capital, Doha.

The release of the Taliban prisoners has faced opposition in the country as many of the inmates were involved in brutal attacks targeting both Afghans and foreigners.

President Ghani on Sunday agreed to release 400 Taliban prisoners after an Afghan grand assembly, known as the Loya Jirga, passed a resolution to approve the move.

The intra-Afghan talks, which were initially slated to be held in March, were delayed as the Afghan government was reluctant to release all the Taliban prisoners.

President Donald Trump, up for re-election in November, has said repeatedly that he wants to end America's longest war, which began nearly 20 years ago.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...brutality-sparks-outrage-200814040509852.html
 
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I guess there isn't much difference between the Taliban and the afghan army

It's a 20 year old civil war where their fellow soldiers were brutally decapitated, tortured and also the succide bombings against civilian population

Any soldier from any country in that situation would react in an inhumane manner against their enemies it's unfortunately our animalistic human nature. These soldiers are on the field for years without any family contact so I am sure they're suffering from severe mental issues and you're right I think 99% of the time in war no one's "good"
 
Afghanistan to Investigate Video Showing Forces Mutilating Taliban Corpses

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan’s defense ministry said it was investigating a video circulating on social media Thursday that showed men in Afghan army uniform mutilating bodies of purported Taliban fighters.

The intensification of violence on the eve of peace talks to end the war, with fighters from both sides often resorting to brutal tactics, has raised concerns that revenge-taking might continue long after any peace deal is signed.

The two-minute cellphone footage shows the men in uniforms smashing the heads of corpses with hatchets. Other soldiers, with their faces visible, are gathered around the scene — some laugh, some film and photograph, one stands over a body, smoking a cigarette as he poses for a picture.

The Taliban, in a statement, said the bodies of their fighters were mutilated in the Arghandab district of Zabul Province. In early April, the Taliban killed a large number of soldiers from an Afghan army unit there, in the deadliest episode in the district in recent months. An Afghan official said the video likely dates to around that time.

One man filming the mutilation scene can be heard saying, “They had come to fight in Arghandab — this is their Red Unit,” referring to the Taliban’s elite force.

“If proven that these were personnel of the Afghan army, the perpetrators will be dealt with according to the law,” the defense ministry said.

The Taliban and the Afghan government are expected to begin direct negotiations in a few days, as part of an agreement reached in February between the insurgents and the United States, which backs the government. That agreement has already led to a drawdown of American forces, from a little over 12,000 troops to about 8,000. As preparations for the direct talks stalled, bogged down by a dispute over exchanging prisoners, violence has intensified across the country.

The Taliban in recent months have killed members of the Afghan forces who had long left the force, or have repeatedly targeted officers who were on their way home to their families and posing no immediate threat, then dumped their bodies after executing them.

In the leadup to the talks, both sides have gone online to spread images and videos of the other’s abuses. The widespread images sow hatred that could fan vengeance long after a peace agreement on paper.

“As the violence continues, we see more brutal and shocking tactics from the sides and examples of revenge-taking, and that is very worrying and impacts any trust in a peace process,” said Shaharzad Akbar, the chief of Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission.

“It is on the leadership of the two sides to have clear messages to their fighters to avoid war crimes and actions that furthers the instinct for revenge that will make the reconciliation that should come out of a peace process difficult.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/13/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban-mutilation-video.html
 
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