The United Nations on Friday condemned the Taliban for its crackdown on protesters and journalists covering the agitations against the ins...
The United Nations on Friday condemned the Taliban for its crackdown on protesters and journalists covering the agitations against the insurgent group in Afghanistan.
“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, the spokesperson for the Office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement.
The human rights body said that protests had been taking place in Afghanistan since August 15, when the Taliban seized control of Kabul, but the insurgent group banned “unlawful assemblies” on Wednesday.
The insurgent group has banned all protests and slogans against it.
The UN said that the peaceful protesters faced an “increasingly violent response” by the Taliban, including the use of live ammunition, batons and whips.
Shamdasani noted several incidents in which the insurgent group responded to protests with violence.
She said that between August 15 and August 19, the Taliban reportedly killed a man and a boy and injured eight others when it opened fire on protesters to disperse the crowd.
“On Tuesday, this week [September 7], during a protest in Herat, the Taliban reportedly shot and killed two men and wounded seven more,” the statement said. “That...
