Unfolding Events in Afghanistan
(New York, November 15, 2001) - There is a lack of clarity in many of the reports now coming out of Afghanistan as to when, by whom, and even whether human rights violations took place. The anti-Taliban forces have been responsible for some executions and looting, but more information is needed to determine if some of the reports of mass reprisal killings are accurate.
For example, some sources have reported the deaths of hundreds of Taliban fighters in a school in Mazar-i Sharif following the Northern Alliance capture of the city on Friday, November 9. If those fighters had laid down arms and were prisoners of war ("in the power of an adverse party"); if they had clearly expressed an intention to surrender; or if they were unconscious, defenseless, or otherwise incapacitated, their deaths at the hands of Northern Alliance forces would clearly be a serious human rights abuse. Indeed, the murder of combatants in such circumstances is a grave violation of international humanitarian law, and constitutes a war crime.
If, however, as some reports suggest, the Taliban fighters were holed up in a school compound exchanging fire with opposing forces and were targeted in the process of that exchange, causing their deaths or wounding in this circumstance would not be considered a violation of international humanitarian law.
Under what is known as the "combatant's privilege," international humanitarian law does not prohibit soldiers from killing enemy combatants -- even if the opposing fighters are in retreat -- so long as they are not wounded, captured, or otherwise out of combat (hors de combat).
To know precisely what happened, it would be important not only to get impartial eyewitness accounts, but also to conduct forensic examinations of the bodies of those killed. Locations of bullet wounds, as well as any marks from rope burns on the wrists, for example, might be indications of executions.
In some cases, confusion may stem from the fact that Afghanistan has endured so much devastation that it is sometimes difficult to be able to determine at first sight whether destruction took place two days, two months, or two years ago.
Bamiyan province is a case in point. One news report suggested that Taliban forces retreating from this north-central area of Afghanistan, where the two giant Buddha statues were destroyed earlier in the year, might have engaged in "ethnic cleansing" against the local Hazara population. That area has indeed been the site of some of the Taliban's worst atrocities in the past, but not in the last week.
In June 2001, the Taliban systematically burned down homes, shops, mosques, and other public buildings in the western part of Bamiyan. Most of the local population fled at the time to the surrounding hills, joining residents who had taken shelter there earlier in the year, while many of those who remained behind were reportedly killed by the Taliban.
Human Rights Watch remains concerned about the possibility of reprisal killings against civilians and those who have laid down their arms, as well as looting of badly needed humanitarian aid. Sources in Kabul told Human Rights Watch that Northern Alliance forces there were guarding humanitarian aid compounds and in some cases stopping looters.
In other areas, residents reportedly formed into local security groups to guard property. But with the Taliban retreat, the emergence of armed, unaccountable gangs may be an increasing problem.
For more information on the conflict in Afghanistan and other issues surrounding the September 11 attacks on the United States, please see:
Legal Issues Arising from the War in Afghanistan and Related Anti-Terrorism Efforts (HRW Q & A, October 2001) at <http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/september11/ihlqna.htm>
September 11 Attacks: Crimes Against Humanity (HRW Focus Page) at <http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/september11/ihlqna.htm>