1998 Mazar-i-Sharif massacre

Massacre by Taliban in Afghanistan in 1998 March 2023 the Afghan Civil War (1996–2001) Mazar-i Sharif, Afghanistan 36.7 67.11 region:AF_type:event it 8–11 August 1998Maley William The Afghanistan Wars 3 November 2020 Bloomsbury Academic 308 3rd https://www.amazon.com/Afghanistan-Wars-Twentieth-Century-ebook/dp/B09HZ8SNJG/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= English Primarily ethnic Hazaras. Some other Northern Alliance supporters were targeted as well Massacre At least 10,000, likely many more Taliban Retaliation for the extrajudicial killings of Taliban POWs during the Battles of Mazar-i-Sharif (1997–1998) The 1998 Mazar-i-Sharif massacre took place in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan in 1998. At least 10,000 people were killed by the Taliban, with Human Rights Watch estimating that the actual number of victims may be much higher.THE MASSACRE IN MAZAR-I SHARIF https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports98/afghan/Afrepor0.htm www.hrw.org The massacre occurred in August 1998, after the Final battle of Mazar-i-Sharif (1997–1998), in which the Taliban captured the city from the Northern Alliance forces that the Taliban was fighting a civil war with. After capturing the city Taliban forces perpetrated a massacre of members of the Shia Hazara ethnic group.1998-09-18 Afghans Report Ethnic Massacre by Taliban https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-sep-18-mn-24021-story.html 2022-04-22 Los Angeles Times en-USCooper Kenneth J November 28, 1998 TALIBAN MASSACRE BASED ON ETHNICITY https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1998/11/28/taliban-massacre-based-on-ethnicity/efe15f81-abed-4e57-96f1-046cc59d1d48/ April 22, 2022 The Washington Post1998-11-01 Afghanistan: The Massacre in Mazar-I Sharif Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org/report/1998/11/01/afghanistan-massacre-mazar-i-sharif en History When the Taliban entered Mazar-i-Sharif, they launched a campaign of violence and brutality against the population. The newly installed Taliban governor, Mulla Manon Niazi, delivered speeches at mosques throughout the city in which he threatened to use violence against the Hazara people. Stating that the Hazaras of killing Taliban prisoners in 1997, Niazi threatened to punish them in retaliation if they did not leave Afghanistan. He warned that other residents of the city would also be punished if they protected Hazaras. In one of his speeches, Niazi ominously warned Hazara residents: "wherever you go we will catch you. If you go up, we will pull you down by your feet; if you hide below, we will pull you up by your hair."THE MASSACRE IN MAZAR-I SHARIF https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports98/afghan/Afrepor0-03.htm www.hrw.org Niazi claimed that the massacres were retaliation for the execution of over 10,000 Taliban militants in Mazar-i-Sharif the year before, by Abdul Malik Pahlawan and Uzbek militants. Although Niazi "knew very well" that it was the Uzbeks, he purposely targeted Hazaras.How We Missed the Story: Osama Bin Laden, the Taliban, and the Hijacking of Afghanistan, Roy Gutman, 2008, pp. 138-139 It is estimated that thousands of people, including civilians, soldiers, and prisoners of war, were killed during the massacre. The Taliban also systematically targeted some ethnic Uzbeks and Tajiks, who were seen as supporters of the Northern Alliance.THE MASSACRE IN MAZAR-I SHARIF https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports98/afghan/Afrepor0-02.htm#P114_24041 www.hrw.org Over 9,000 Afghan Turkmens fled to Turkmenistan in fears of being targeted in the massacre.Taliban Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia, Ahmed Rashid, 2010, pp. 61 Reports from the time claimed that the Taliban engaged in a range of acts including mass executions, burying people alive, using tanks to crush people to death,A gruesome record The Guardian 16 November 2001 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/nov/16/afghanistan.terrorism2 9 March 2023 slitting throats and shooting people in the testicles.Harnden Toby First Casualty: The Untold Story of the CIA Mission to Avenge 9/11 7 September 2021 Little, Brown and Company 31 https://www.amazon.com/First-Casualty-Untold-Mission-Avenge-ebook/dp/B08S3GKQVM/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= English The Taliban also forcefully converted Shia Muslims to Sunni Islam.How We Missed the Story: Osama Bin Laden, the Taliban, and the Hijacking of Afghanistan, Roy Gutman, 2008, pp. 138-141 The victims of the massacre included 400 civilians who had sought sanctuary at the Shrine of Hazrat Ali. Despite their efforts to find safety in the holy site, they were ultimately killed by the Taliban.Harnden Toby First Casualty: The Untold Story of the CIA Mission to Avenge 9/11 7 September 2021 Little, Brown and Company 30–31 https://www.amazon.com/First-Casualty-Untold-Mission-Avenge-ebook/dp/B08S3GKQVM/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= English The victims of the massacre included targeted women, children, and the elderly. Additionally, the Taliban killed eight Iranian officials at the Iranian consulate in the city, as well as an Iranian journalist.Afghanistan: The Massacre in Mazar-I Sharif https://www.hrw.org/report/1998/11/01/afghanistan-massacre-mazar-i-sharif Human Rights Watch en 1 November 1998 In addition to the killings, the Taliban's campaign also included abductions of girls, kidnappings for ransom, torture, rape, arbitrary detention, and rampant looting.U.S. Department of State Archive, Afghanistan Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1998 https://1997-2001.state.gov/global/human_rights/1998_hrp_report/afghanis.html The Hazara people were among those persecuted by the Taliban due to their adherence to the Shi'a sect of Islam. The Taliban, as followers of a strict conservative Sunni sect, considered Shi'a to be infidels and sought to impose their religious beliefs on the Hazara population. During their search operations in Mazar-i-Sharif, the Taliban ordered some residents to prove that they were not Shi'a by reciting Sunni prayers. This religious test was used to identify and target members of the Hazara community.THE MASSACRE IN MAZAR-I SHARIF https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports98/afghan/Afrepor0.htm 9 March 2023 While the Taliban primarily targeted Hazaras, Human Rights Watch interviewed witnesses who saw or knew of detentions of Uzbeks and Tajiks as well. One interviewed Tajik witness, who had himself been detained, told Human Rights Watch: "Some of the prisoners were beaten, mostly Hazaras. They were tied up and made to lie face down, and then the Taliban would beat them with cables. The Taliban were telling everyone to surrender their arms and tell them where they could find Hazaras. They said, 'If you hand over a Hazara, we will let you go.'" The Taliban were meticulous in identifying members of various ethnic groups during their operations. Non-Hazaras were often released, provided someone vouched for them. Human Rights Watch has reported that ethnic Pashtuns were not generally targeted by the Taliban during this time. However, one Pashtun woman who had hidden eight Hazaras was fatally shot dead in her home, along with the individuals she had tried to protect.Maley William The Afghanistan Wars 3 November 2020 Bloomsbury Academic 308–309 3rd https://www.amazon.com/Afghanistan-Wars-Twentieth-Century-ebook/dp/B09HZ8SNJG/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= English The massacre's brutality sent shockwaves throughout the international community. It occurred at a time when international tensions with the Taliban were increasing due to their discrimination of womenMalkasian Carter The American War in Afghanistan: A History 15 June 2021 Oxford University Press 51 1st https://www.amazon.com/American-War-Afghanistan-History-ebook/dp/B0968MD26F/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= English and amid concerns that they were harboring the international terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.Risen James U.S. SEEKS MEANS TO BRING SUSPECT FROM AFGHANISTAN https://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/20/world/us-seeks-means-to-bring-suspect-from-afghanistan.html The New York Times 20 August 1998 On August 20, 1998, the US government issued a warning for non-Muslims to leave Afghanistan.Bonner Raymond U.S. Warns Non-Muslims to Leave Afghanistan https://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/20/world/us-warns-non-muslims-to-leave-afghanistan.html The New York Times 20 August 1998 Meanwhile, Iran responded to the situation in neighboring Afghanistan by dispatching troops to its border. In the weeks after the takeover the Taliban announced the execution of some soldiers who had been responsible for crimes.https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports98/afghan/Afrepor0.htm The Massacre in Mazar-I Sharif The Mazar-i-Sharif massacre was one of the worst incidents in the Afghan Civil War, and it highlighted the need for an end to the conflict. Although the massacre did not receive much global attention or garner much official outrage at the time, human rights organizations like Human Rights Watch have since conducted investigations shedding light on the atrocities that occurred.THE MASSACRE IN MAZAR-I SHARIF https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports98/afghan/Afrepor0-09.htm#TopOfPage www.hrw.org In the aftermath of the incident, international tensions rapidly escalated with the Taliban regime, until it was ultimately ousted from power following the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan. Mass graves of Hazaras killed during the massacre were later found in nearby Jaghalkani-i-Takhta Pul.19 April 2003 Mass graves keep grim secrets until investigators get military protection Sydney Morning Herald https://www.smh.com.au/world/mass-graves-keep-grim-secrets-until-investigators-get-military-protection-20030419-gdgmjn.html See also List of massacres in Afghanistan List of massacres against Hazaras Battles of Mazar-i-Sharif (1997–1998) Persecution of Hazaras References Further reading THE MASSACRE IN MAZAR-I SHARIF. Human Rights Watch. November 1998 TALIBAN MASSACRE BASED ON ETHNICITY. The Washington Post. November 28, 1998 Category:Massacres committed by the Taliban Category:Massacres in Afghanistan Category:History of Balkh Province Category:Massacres in 1998 Category:Afghan Civil War (1996–2001) Category:1998 crimes in Afghanistan Category:1998 murders in Asia Category:1990s murders in Afghanistan Category:August 1998 crimes Category:August 1998 in Afghanistan Category:Massacres of Hazara people Category:Mazar-i-Sharif Category:Massacres of Shia Muslims