US troops arrive to support Operation Allies Refuge at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. 20 August, 2021. (Photo credit: Senior Airman Taylor Crul/U.S. Air Force/Handout via REUTERS)
A Taliban official told Reuters on 21 August that the group and its fighters will be accountable for their actions, and that there are plans to investigate reports of reprisals and crimes committed by its members.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “We have heard of some cases of atrocities and crimes against civilians (…) If the Talibs are causing these law and order problems, they will be investigated.”
“We can understand the panic, stress and anxiety. People think we will not be accountable, but that will not be the case,” the official added.
According to reports by NATO and the Taliban, at least 12 people have been killed in and around Kabul’s international airport since the armed group emerged victorious from 20 years of war.
But the Taliban official also highlighted that the violence and chaos seen at Kabul’s airport was not of their own doing, saying that “the West could have had a better plan to evacuate.”
According to the report, the Taliban is preparing a new model for governing Afghanistan which will be revealed within the next few weeks, reportedly with separate teams to tackle internal security and financial issues.
But the official also went on to say that the new government structure would not resemble a democracy by western definitions, but “it will protect everyone’s rights.”