At least nine people were killed in a Taliban raid on a village on the outskirts of the city of Nili, the center of Daikundi province, on Thursday evening, two sources from the area said.
Many, including a woman, have been wounded in the incident, said the sources.
The incident happened on Thursday evening, Nov. 24, in Siwak village, a two-hour distance by car from the center of Nili.
The sources said that a group of Taliban members from the group’s intelligence and army in a joint operation raided two houses belonging to Hashim Khan and Mohammad Dad Jaffari, killing some members of the two families.
Jaffari and Khan were the residents of Siwak village and their houses are located away from each other.
Hashim Khan and Jaffari’s sons used to carry weapons due to a land dispute they were involved in against people close to the Taliban, sources said.
The sources added that the Taliban after knowing about the issue and surrounded their houses and used heavy weapons against them.
Five of those wounded in the incident are under Taliban custody, said the sources.
One Taliban member was killed and two more were wounded in the incident.
Taliban officials in Daikundi in a statement on national TV under their control said the incident happened due to a legal dispute.
“In recent years, two tribes were involved in a legal dispute in a village in the center of Daikundi. The two sides of the dispute, were summoned by the court many times to follow their case, but they refused to appear at the court,” said a Taliban statement.
“The two sides of the dispute were invited by religious scholars and influential people to end their dispute but they once again refused to accept the invitation,” said the Taliban.
The Taliban has said that it arrested the two sides of the dispute on Thursday, Nov. 24, and were sent to the court.
Reactions to the incident
Two Afghan political figures out of the country called for a thorough probe into the incident by international human rights organizations.
Mohammad Mohaqiq, the founder of the People’s Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan, called the incident crime against humanity and said nine people, including a woman and three children, had been killed.
In a social media post, he mentioned the victims’ names and said the incident needs to be probed thoroughly by an international organization. Mohaqiq added that the Taliban must end “strengthening its cruel rule.”
Former vice president Mohammad Karim Khalili said in a Facebook post that the Taliban has committed “war crime” and “crime against humanity” due to “revenge and rivalries” against the people by attacking the Sewak village.
He called the incident a “massacre” and said a number of women and children have been stranded in the mountains following the incident.
Meanwhile, former vice president Sarwar Danish, in a statement on a Facebook page from a new movement founded by him said the incident is a clear sign of crime against humanity.
He also called for a thorough investigation into the incident by international humanitarian organizations.
