塔利班否认屠杀阿富汗平民 并提议联合国等机构开展独立调查
当地时间8月11日，塔利班否认在针对阿富汗政府军的作战行动中出现了屠杀平民的行为，呼吁对此进行独立调查，并向阿富汗人承诺“不会给任何家庭带来威胁”。
随着外国军队逐步撤出，塔利班武装加强了针对美国支持的阿富汗政府的军事行动，过去一周已攻占多座省会城市。
联合国表示，过去一个月里有超过1000名阿富汗平民被杀害。国际红十字会称，自从8月1日以来，15所医疗机构收治了4042名伤员。
塔利班发言人苏海尔·沙欣（Suhail Shaheen）在声明中指出，塔利班“没有在任何地方针对任何平民和他们的家园，而是以非常谨慎细致的方式展开行动”。他将阿富汗平民的死亡归咎于阿富汗政府军和外国军队。
塔利班还提议，由联合国、红十字国际委员会及其他救援组织一起，陪同他们的代表“对最近发生的（平民被害）事件开展公正独立的调查”。
The Taliban on Wednesday denied targeting and killing civilians during an offensive against Afghan government troops, calling for an independent investigation and seeking to assure Afghans that "no home or family shall face any threat from our side."
The Islamist militants issued a statement after the United Nations said more than 1,000 civilians had been killed in the past month and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that 4,042 wounded people had been treated at 15 health facilities since August 1.
Taliban fighters have stepped up their campaign to defeat the U.S.-backed government since April as foreign forces started to withdraw after 20 years of war in the country. The group has seized 10 provincial capitals in the past week.
Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen said in a statement that the group "has not targeted any civilians or their homes in any locality, rather the operations have been undertaken with great precision and caution." He instead blamed Afghan government troops and foreign forces for any civilian deaths.
The United States rejected the Taliban's denial of responsibility.
"There is, everywhere you look, compelling data points, evidence, imagery of the violence, the bloodshed, the potential atrocities that the Taliban are committing," U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. "We have seen it with our own eyes, from some of the footage that's emerging."
The Taliban proposed that a team made up of the United Nations, ICRC and other aid groups accompany their representatives "to conduct an impartial and independent investigation into the latest events."
Since the start of the year nearly 390,000 people have been displaced by the Afghan conflict with a "huge spike" since May, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Wednesday.
"Between July 1 and August 5, 2021, the humanitarian community verified that 5,800 internally displaced persons and arrived in Kabul," Dujarric said.
U.S. frustration
The failure of Afghan security forces to blunt the advance of the Taliban has left U.S. officials deeply frustrated after spending billions to train and equip the country's military for two decades.
President Joe Biden and other officials have repeatedly called for Afghan leaders to unite and fashion a clear strategy amid mounting worries that the insurgents could besiege Kabul within months.
"We spent over a trillion dollars over 20 years. We trained and equipped with modern equipment over 300,000 Afghan forces," Biden said Tuesday after the Taliban captured several more provincial capitals with little resistance.
"Afghan leaders have to come together," Biden said. "They've got to fight for themselves, fight for their nation."
Ahead of the completion of the US withdrawal on August 31, the Pentagon and the State Department closely echoed Biden's words.
"The Afghan forces have the capability, they have the capacity, they have numerical advantage, they have an air force," said Defense Department spokesman John Kirby on Tuesday. "It's really going to come down to the leadership and the will to use those capabilities."
Carter Malkasian, a former Pentagon official and author of "The American War in Afghanistan," said that the most capable military commanders and many tribal and ethnic leaders are staying in Kabul for political reasons when they need to be out on the frontlines.
"They need some encouragement from the government and other major leaders like (former president) Hamid Karzai to get out there and to go fight for their communities and not sit in Kabul," Malkasian said.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani returned to the capital on Wednesday after a flying visit to the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif to rally his beleaguered forces. Ghani said earlier this month that the country's deteriorating security was a result of Washington's abrupt decision to withdraw troops.