Killings of Hazara Shiites in Uruzgan Since the Taliban Takeover in August 2021
In recent months, numerous cases involving the killing of Hazara Shiites, the destruction of homes and farms, the cutting down of fruit trees, and the burning of property have been reported in Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan.
Residents of the Joye Naw area of Uruzgan Khas district say that members of the local Hazara Shiite community have been subjected to targeted killings and other forms of violence. Local sources also report that many families have been forced to leave the area because of threats and insecurity.
Table of Contents
1. Background on Uruzgan
2. Killings and Destruction in Joye Naw
3. September 2023: Father and Son Reportedly Beheaded
4. Broader Concerns About Violence Against Hazaras
According to the Program for Culture and Conflict Studies at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), the population of Uruzgan Province was estimated at approximately 436,079 in 2020, with around 45,000 households. A significant proportion of the settled population consisted of ethnic Pashtuns and Hazaras.
Local sources say that the Hazara population of Uruzgan has declined significantly since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021. In the Joye Naw area alone, sources estimate that approximately 1,500 Hazara families lived there before the Taliban takeover. They say that the number has since fallen to approximately 300 families. Joye Naw is located in the center of Uruzgan Khas district.
2. Killings and Destruction in Joye NawOne of the reported killings occurred on Friday, August 18, 2023. According to a source who spoke to the Daily Information newspaper, the victim was a farmer named Haji Bostan. The source said that Bostan was performing ablution for prayer near his home when two men riding a motorcycle shot and killed him.
The identities of the attackers remain unknown. The source alleged that the same individuals responsible for cutting down trees in the area were also responsible for Bostan's killing. According to the source, Bostan was the 14th resident of Joye Naw to have been killed since the Taliban takeover in 2021. Another local source attributed the killings to ethnic tensions between Hazara and Pashtun communities.
Before Bostan's killing, local sources had reported the deaths of 13 residents of Joye Naw. According to a list provided by sources to the newspaper, those killed included Haji Bostan, Mohammad Hashem, son of Seyed Yousef; Dr. Amiri; Karbalai Ansari; Mohammad Hossein, son of Swati; Mohammad Taghi Rouhani; Musa; and Mohammad Ali, among others. Local Taliban officials in Uruzgan had not publicly commented on Bostan's killing at the time of the report. The killing came shortly after reports that dozens of fruit-bearing trees belonging to residents of Joye Naw had been cut down. According to local sources, the alleged perpetrators were members of the Kotezai tribe, a Pashtun community living near the Joye Naw area.
Residents and local sources say that theft, looting, and the destruction of property have increased significantly in the area since the Taliban takeover. They also report that these incidents have contributed to the forced displacement of Hazara families. According to the sources, at least 20 houses belonging to residents of Joye Naw have been destroyed or burned since August 2021. They also reported that three vehicles belonging to residents of the area were burned during 2023.
Local residents have also reported threats of forced displacement. According to sources, individuals whose identities are known locally have, for some time, publicly threatened Hazara Shiite residents of Joye Naw with being forced to leave the area. Residents said they were afraid to publicly identify those making the threats because they feared repercussions from the Taliban. Some residents also alleged that Taliban members were involved in, or tolerated, the threats. These allegations have not been independently established. In recent weeks, photographs have circulated showing armed men cutting down fruit trees belonging to residents of Uruzgan Khas district.
3. September 2023: Father and Son Reportedly BeheadedOn September 20, 2023, local sources reported the killing of a Hazara father and his son in Uruzgan Khas district. According to the sources, Haji Hassan and his son, Ali Khan, were killed on Wednesday, September 20, and buried the following day. Both were residents of the Joye Naw area. Sources said that the two men were transporting dried fruit to a market when they were attacked in the Tangi Sabzchob area of the district. They alleged that the men were killed and beheaded with a knife.
Eyewitnesses reportedly described the bodies as covered in blood and bearing injuries consistent with having been cut with a knife. Following the deaths of Haji Hassan and Ali Khan, local residents told sources that at least 17 people from the Joye Naw area had been killed since the Taliban takeover. They said that all of the reported victims were Hazara civilians.
(Burial of a killed Hazara man in Uruzgan Province.)
According to local sources, several Taliban members attended the burial ceremony of Haji Hassan and his son, Ali Khan. The Taliban representatives reportedly asked local residents to cooperate in identifying those responsible for the killings. Local Taliban officials reportedly told residents of Uruzgan Khas that the authorities could not assign a soldier to every household. However, according to the sources cited in these reports, Taliban authorities did not publicly comment on the killings of Haji Hassan and Ali Khan or on the broader allegations made by residents concerning violence, threats, and destruction of property.
4. Broader Concerns About Violence Against HazarasThe reported killings and destruction of property in Uruzgan have occurred amid broader concerns about violence against Afghanistan's Hazara community. Human rights organizations have reported that Hazaras have faced violence and discrimination in Afghanistan because of their ethnic and religious identity. Hazaras are predominantly Shiite Muslims and have been the victims of repeated attacks in Afghanistan.
Amnesty International has previously documented attacks against Hazaras in Afghanistan and has described some patterns of violence against the community as potentially amounting to crimes against humanity. The reports from Joye Naw raise concerns not only about the killing of individual residents but also about the destruction of homes and agricultural property, threats of forced displacement, and the reported decline of the local Hazara population.
The allegations concerning the perpetrators and motives of individual incidents require further independent investigation. Nevertheless, residents and local sources continue to report a pattern of violence and intimidation affecting the Hazara Shiite community in Uruzgan Khas district.
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