Statement of Shia Rights Watch condemning the massacre of the Afghan village of “Seok Sheber”

Confirmed reports have been received from Afghanistan that the village of “Seok Sheber” in the Nili district of the “Daykundi” province, which has a Shia majority of the Hazara nationality, was subjected to a brutal campaign on Thursday, November 24, 2022, in which nine civilians were killed.

According to the latest information received by Shia Rights Watch so far, among them are a woman and four children, whose ages ranged from 11 to 14 years.

The region that witnessed that horrible massacre is among the safe areas that have not witnessed any kind of ethnic friction or sectarian tensions with the Taliban movement since its seizure of power in the country in 2021.

The intensification of crimes targeting the Afghan Hazara component, and the failure of the de facto authorities to take deterrent and preventive measures to prevent their occurrence, puts the latter in the position of being accused of intentional complicity or negligence, which may exacerbate the situation and drag the country into unimaginable consequences.

The horror of the recent catastrophe, which amounts to a war crime against humanity, prompts us to hold the Taliban responsible for that crime as the ruling authority in the country and bears the de facto responsibility for establishing security and preserving the lives of civilians.

As the organization expresses its condemnation and denunciation of this heinous crime, it appeals to international human rights organizations to carry out their duties in following up this case and others like it, and to uncover the perpetrators, prosecute them and bring them to trial so that they receive their just punishment.