NPR

CIA-Backed Afghan Forces Committed Atrocities, Human Rights Group Says

The paramilitary forces have "unlawfully targeted civilians because of mistaken identity, poor intelligence, or political rivalries in the locality," according to Human Rights Watch.
Human Rights Watch says one of the deadly raids happened in the Rodat district of Afghanistan's Nangarhar province in late October 2018. Residents gathered there two days later.

Late at night, heavily armed CIA-backed Afghan paramilitary forces will land in a village to carry out a raid in Taliban-controlled areas looking for militants. They'll bomb their way through the walls of a compound, then separate whoever they find into groups of women and young children, and men and boys. They'll question the men, and detain some of them. Others will be shot execution-style.

These are about paramilitary forces pursuing the Taliban, al-Qaeda or ISIS. It says the paramilitary forces have "unlawfully targeted civilians because of mistaken identity, poor intelligence, or political rivalries in the locality." Some of the civilians were reportedly targeted because they provided food to the Taliban, even if it was under duress.

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