UN chief disturbed by reports of militants restricting rights of Afghan women
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People lining up for water earlier this month at a camp in Kandahar for families who have fled the fighting between Afghan government forces and Taleban militants.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
UNITED NATIONS/UNITED STATES • "Horrifying" reports have emerged that the Taleban has severely restricted the rights of Afghan women and girls in areas it has seized, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters yesterday.
The Taleban militants have been inching closer to Kabul and full control of Afghanistan, fuelling fears of a return to their brutal regime that was toppled by the United States-led invasion in 2001.
"I'm... deeply disturbed by early indications that the Taleban is imposing severe restrictions on human rights in the areas under its control, particularly targeting women and journalists," said Mr Guterres.
"It is particularly horrifying and heartbreaking to see reports of the hard-won rights of Afghan girls and women being ripped away."
The UN chief also warned that "directing attacks against civilians is a serious violation of international humanitarian law and amounts to a war crime".
The Taleban had issued a statement earlier last week, after the UN said more than 1,000 civilians had been killed in the past month and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that about 4,000 wounded people had been treated at 15 health facilities since Aug 1.
Taleban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said in the statement that the group "has not targeted any civilians or their homes in any locality; rather, the operations have been undertaken with great precision and caution".
He instead blamed Afghan government troops and foreign forces for any civilian deaths.
Washington has refuted the Taleban's denial of responsibility.
The Taleban also proposed that a team made up of UN and ICRC members as well as other aid groups accompany its representatives "to conduct an impartial and independent investigation into the latest events".
A spokesman for Mr Guterres and Afghanistan's mission to the UN in New York did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
