Kandahar residents demand investigation into mass graves

KANDAHAR CITY (Pajhwok): The residents of southern Kandahar province have demanded investigation into the discovery of a mass grave in Spin Boldak district.

A mass grave containing 12 bodies was discovered in the Nawa village of Spin Boldak district, Kandahar Governor Office spokesperson Haji Zaid told Pajhwok Afghan News.

He claimed the bodies in the mass grave were people killed by former Kandahar Police Chief Gen. Abdul Razeq.

He said another mass grave was found in the Daman district and the killings happened seven years back.

Mohammad Anwar, a resident of Nawa village, said if investigation took place more mass graves would be discovered.

“During the past regime many people were killed, a man named Saleh Mohammad was killed in front of his mother and wife,” he said.

“My two brothers Mullah Mohammad Esa and Mullah Abdul Rahman were martyred and their bodies recovered from sands two years back,” he said.

But former Kandahar Police Chief Gen. Abdul Razeq’s family rejected the charges of mass killings.

The slain Gen. Razeq’s brother Abdul Khaleq told media from an unknown location: “After the fall of the past regime,  a large number of military and civilian personnel were killed in Spin Boldak, these individuals were from Achakzai tribe and close to Gen. Razeq.”

Kandahar residents want investigation into mass graves

Syed Ahmad, a resident of Kandahar province, said: “Trusted and independent institutions should conduct investigations into the mass graves to identify the victims and who killed them.”

Abdul Basir, a resident of Kandahar City, said in the past decades of conflict, regimes had changed and one regime's supporters killed the followers of another regime.

He said the UN should conduct a detailed and accurate investigation into the newly discovered mass graves.

The United Nations called for a thoroughgoing probe into the discovery of the mass grave in Kandahar.

UN Rapporteur for Human Rights in Afghanistan Richard Bennett said it was important the remains were not damaged further, pending a forensic examination.

Meanwhile, a veteran human rights campaigner stressed the need for securing the mass grave, which should be investigated by forensic experts.

Patricia Gossman, Asia special deputy head of the Human Rights Watch Commission, tweeted: “Discovery of grave sites makes it all the more urgent that authorities prevent acts of revenge.”

“As UN HRC discusses ways to support accountability in Afghanistan, vital that all alleged crimes be investigated as part of process that leads to justice, according to international standards,” she wrote.

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