Amnesty condemns Yakawlang massacre

Amnesty International (AI) has strongly condemned what it called the summary execution of scores of Afghan civilians by Taliban forces after their capture of the district of Yakawlang in central Bamyan Province in Hazarajat. "This brutal treatment of civilians simply has to end," the human rights organisation aid. "These deeply disturbing reports once again underline the need for action in the international community to ensure the protection of the civilian population in Afghanistan." According to an AI statement on Tuesday, the victims, all male and as as young as 13 years of age, are thought to have numbered between 100 and 300. The killings, which reportedly took place in villages around Nayak, were accompanied by mass arrests, the statement said. The executions followed the recapture of Yakawlang from the the anti-Taliban Hezb-e Wahdat party in fierce fighting in December 2000. It is thought that the latest reported executions were in retaliation for Taliban losses in the course of their conquest of the district. A Taliban commander is alleged to have ordered his forces to kill all men between the ages of 13 and 70 whom they regarded as anti-Taliban, the statement added.