HRW condemns alleged Taliban killings

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch on Sunday released eyewitness accounts of an alleged massacre by the Taliban movement of some 300 ethnic Hazara civilians in Yakawlang, west of Bamyan City, in January. The US-based rights group, which had photographs and video footage to back its claim, said the alleged massacres took place in January and continued for four days, during which Taliban soldiers rounded up 300 locals and shot them publicly in the district centre. The Taliban has denied the allegations. Human Rights Watch urged the United Nations to step up efforts to investigate the massacre, citing previous failures by the UN to hold Afghanistan’s warring parties accountable for grave abuses. The NGO said it was crucial that the investigation be conducted by a small, expert team as quickly as possible, before crucial evidence disappeared.