Afghanistan: Taliban kidnapped Hazaras for 'stealing sheep'
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 21 November 2015 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Afghanistan: Taliban kidnapped Hazaras for 'stealing sheep', 21 November 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56813d4012.html [accessed 22 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Last updated (GMT/UTC): 21.11.2015 20:30
Afghan Taliban militants kidnapped at least seven ethnic Hazaras after a dispute over local sheep, according to local authorities.
The militants stopped three buses at dawn in Afghanistan's Zabul Province, first taking 17 hostages before releasing nine of them, said local leader Wazir Mohammed Jawadi.
Local police chief Mirwais Noorzai said that local Taliban leader Mullah Taqwa ordered the kidnappings because Hazaras allegedly "stole sheep."
He said the Taliban leader would release the hostages "if the Hazaras give him back his sheep."
Thousands of Afghans attended the funerals of seven Hazaras after their decapitated bodies were found in Zabul earlier this month.
The Hazara are a Persian-speaking, Shi'ite minority that has long been persecuted in Afghanistan. Thousands were killed in the 1990s by the Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants.
Based on reporting by AFP
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
