Reported Killings of Prisoners ‘an Atrocity’
AFGHANISTAN
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The Afghan government said the reported deaths of hundreds of Taliban prisoners following their surrender last year appeared to be an “atrocity” and pledged to cooperate in an investigation. But officials stopped short of pledging to organize an inquiry themselves.
The United Nations said Tuesday that it had investigated a mass grave at Dasht-i-Leili but suspended the probe as Afghanistan could not protect witnesses. Newsweek magazine said more than 1,000 prisoners may have died in shipping containers.
Although the state vowed to cooperate with any human rights investigation, Defense Minister Mohammed Qassim Fahim said he doubted that mass graves exist.
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