Freshta Ghani and Kreshma Fakhri
The Taliban opened fire on a family during a house inspection in the Bost area of Lashkar Gah city in southern Helmand province on Sunday. Two people were killed and two others were injured, including a child.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a relative of the family told Zan Times that there was an argument when the Taliban arrived to search for weapons. “He told them that he was also a Taliban member and there was no need to search his house, but the [commander] insisted that the house should be searched,” the relative said.
“When the owner prevented the Taliban from entering, one of them climbed up on the wall around the yard and started shooting inside the house and injured a woman,” he said.
When the family was trying to get the woman to a hospital in a car, the Taliban ordered the vehicle to stop, according to the family member: “When they failed to do so, the Taliban started shooting at the car, resulting in the deaths of two women, and injury of a child, and the car’s driver.”
Families of these women took their bodies to the Taliban governor’s office in Helmand as a sign of protest.
The Taliban confirmed the deaths, but said it happened mistakenly. A spokesman for the Interior ministry said they will investigate it.
Zarghona, a resident of Lashkargah city, says the Taliban routinely harass women while searching houses. In her community, women are required to cover their faces, yet the Taliban asked them to remove their burqa. “We had locked ourselves in a room while they were searching the house,” she said. “But the Taliban insisted they should see us to make sure we aren’t hiding anything. My brother told them, ‘There is nothing to hide. It is inappropriate for women to leave the room. Custom doesn’t allow it.’ “One of them pulled the trigger, saying: ‘Do whatever I tell you.’
“My father and brother argued with them, but they were armed; so we had to remove our veils,” she continued. “I noticed that one of the Taliban was looking at my body while smiling.”
Mirwais is a young teacher who lives in the city of Lashkargah. He says the house searches are also a way for Taliban fighters to get revenge on old foes. “When our house was to be searched, I noticed teenage boys entering. One of them was my student. He was lazy and had failed several times in school. That day, he entered the building with a gun and messed everything up as much as he could. There was a cupboard in our house that he broke.”
Another resident of the city says the Taliban shot in the air to scare him, causing his two-year-old son to panic and go into shock. “My son, who was next to me, screamed and cried in fear. Then, he fell to the ground and was bruised. We splashed water on his face. He woke up, but was still shaking.”
It is not the first time that Taliban have searched homes without permission, harassed, insulted, and even killed people. For the past year, house searches have become a strategy Taliban used regularly to target opposition and former government officials and employees.
Names have been changed to protect the identity of the interviewees.
