Much as I would like these -astards to be decimated but now the time has come for Red Cross to take prisoners in Kunduz.
A more humane approach to avoid a catastrophe would be to involve the International Committee of the Red Cross in securing surrender of armed men and sifting the fighters from the civilians. Prisoners of war too have human rights and it would be naive to believe that they would be safe in Northern Alliance's custody. It is true that remnants of the Taliban force that defended Mazar-i-Sharif for weeks before being decimated by the US carpet-bombing on its frontlines, are among those who sought refuge in Kunduz after their retreat. Retreating Taliban troops from Takhar, Baghlan, Samangan and Jauzjan also fled to Kunduz, where the sympathetic Pashtoon population has always sided with the Taliban in a bid to survive in a northern Afghanistan dominated by non-Pashtoons.
In any case, Kunduz defenders cannot be defeated by the Northern Alliance without US aerial support, arms supplies and money. In case of surrender, they should be treated as prisoners of war (POWs) in US custody and handled by the ICRC under the terms of the Geneva Conventions. Otherwise, there would be carnage and the US won't be able to absolve responsibility for the bloodbath.
There are also reports of the presence of many non-Afghan fighters in Kunduz. Among them reportedly are Pakistanis, Arabs, Chechens, Bangladeshis and Uzbeks from neighbouring Uzbekistan. Northern Alliance military commanders have provided exaggerated numbers of their strength, claiming that about 10,000 out of the 30,000 fighters defending Kunduz are foreigners.
Western reporters who have met Taliban and non-Afghan prisoners in Northern Alliance custody in Takhar and Mazar-i-Sharif have pointed out that the number of foreigners among them was far less than should have been had such claims been true. It would be safe to predict that foreigners in Taliban ranks now stranded and besieged in Kunduz could be several hundred but not thousands as is being claimed.
A two-day Northern Alliance deadline for Kunduz's defenders has already expired. There is no doubt that the US is directing and advising the Northern Alliance how to seek their surrender and the fall of Kunduz. But the ruthless killing of prisoners taken by the Northern Alliance soldiers, especially of non-Taliban, in recent days seems to have closed the option for these foreigners to surrender.
A general amnesty announced by the Northern Alliance for surrendering Taliban also has few takers in view of past experiences of open violation of such offers. It is also clear that the siege of Kunduz must have contributed to food shortages and high prices. Adding to the woes of Kunduz civilians is the daily US bombardment. Some civilians have been able to walk across dangerous frontlines and landmines to safety but the bulk of the population is unable to do so.
From reports in News.. |
