The detainees were shackled while in captivity and almost all said they were beaten. The Taliban told them it was punishment for supporting the government, working with the Americans or fighting the insurgents.
KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan captives held by the Taliban have been subjected to abuse, ill-treatment and actions that may amount to torture, the U. N. said Sunday — a statement that comes as the U. S. is trying to find a negotiated solution to the country’s protracted war.
The U. N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said it interviewed 13 detainees from a group of 53 recently rescued from the Taliban, mainly members of Afghan forces but also civilians and government officials captured by the insurgents.
The group was freed on April 25 when Afghan troops raided a Taliban-run detention facility in the Khas Uruzgan district in southern Uruzgan province.
Most of the captives were held since 2018, with three since 2016, the UNAMA statement said, adding they were kept in poor conditions and subjected to forced labor.
