Targeted Killings in Hazara-Shia Areas: “The Brutal Murder of Two Hazara Youth in Behsud”

KABUL (Kokcha.News) — Since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, targeted killings of Hazara Shias have increased significantly. These killings are rooted in efforts to seize land, enforce forced displacement, carry out massacres, and ultimately, genocide against the Hazara people.

Over the past four years, as ISIS attacks against Hazara Shias have decreased, armed Kuchis have become the primary perpetrators of Hazara killings.

Hazaras in central Afghanistan report that since the Taliban’s return, Kuchis have become “bolder,” launching attacks against Hazaras with the confidence of Taliban support.

The Taliban, due to ethnic ties, provide Kuchis with weapons and ammunition, allowing them to openly carry arms and invade Hazara-populated areas, killing without fear of consequences.

The following are accounts of two recent killings in Behsud, Wardak province, illustrating that the series of Hazara massacres by Kuchis under Taliban rule continues, with no end in sight.

The Brutal Murder of Mohammad Zaman Ahmadi
Mohammad Zaman Ahmadi, born in 1979 in the village of Bahadurka in Behsud district, Wardak province, was killed in a brutal manner.

About ten days ago (Thursday, September 15), Ahmadi decided to go to the Darah Sarqal area in Bahadurka to buy a few sheep from Kuchis.

An agreement for the transaction had already been made between Ahmadi and the Kuchis, with only the payment and delivery of the sheep remaining.

Ahmadi left early in the morning for the meeting point, but hours passed, and he did not return home. His family grew worried and, along with neighbors, began searching for him. They searched the mountains, valleys, and everywhere they thought he might be, but found no trace of him.

After five days of searching, Ahmadi’s body was found in a valley in Bahadurka village on Thursday morning (September 20).

Relatives of Ahmadi say that instead of completing the transaction, the Kuchis brutally tortured and killed him. According to their account, the Kuchis broke Ahmadi’s hands and cut off his ears.

The Taliban police commander confirmed Ahmadi’s murder to the media but concealed the perpetrators, stating that it was still unclear who had killed the young man.

The Shooting of Mujtaba Naqvi
Mujtaba Naqvi, another Hazara youth, was recently killed by armed Kuchis in Behsud, Wardak province.

Around 11 a.m. on Tuesday (July 29), three armed Kuchis with their herds invaded the family fields of Mujtaba Naqvi in the village of Shahar Niru in the Hesa Awal district of Behsud.

Mujtaba’s youthful pride and courage did not allow him to remain silent in the face of the armed Kuchis, and he tried to prevent their herds from entering his family’s fields.

Without hesitation, the three armed Kuchis shot and killed the young Hazara man as he defended his family’s property.

Armed Kuchis had previously brought tragedy to Mujtaba’s family in 2008. During an attack by Kuchis that year, Mujtaba fled with several family members to avoid being killed. However, their vehicle overturned during the escape, resulting in the deaths of his mother and two sisters, while Mujtaba was severely injured.

Mujtaba survived that incident, but the Kuchis ultimately took his life, bringing grief to his family once again.

The series of killings of Hazara youth by armed Kuchis under Taliban rule continues.

These massacres are part of the ongoing efforts to commit genocide against the Hazara people, a campaign that began during the reign of Abdul Rahman Khan in the 1880s and has continued for over a century.