United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Kofi Annan has expressed his deep concerns after hearing of “reports that civilians were deliberately targeted and killed during recent fighting in the Yakawlang area of Hazarajat in central Afghanistan.” The United Nations has said that 100 people were killed and one UN Afghan staff person missing after Taliban forces recaptured Yakawlang. However other non-governmental organizations report that some 600 people have been executed at the hands of Taliban forces. Reportedly, Taliban soldiers also looted the area healthcare facilities and murdered of hospital patients and staff. Yakawlang is located in Hazarajat, the home of the ethnic minority group the Hazaras. In a statement released by the UN, Secretary-General Annan called this “only the latest tragedy to befall the Hazaras,” a largely Shi’ite ethnic group that has traditionally been the most disadvantaged in Afghanistan.
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