Barbarous revenge by Northern Alliance

Summary executions, torture, looting and vandalism again follow in the footsteps of the Northern alliance forces, despite promises by their (many) leaders that this time, they would behave themselves.

There are reports that Taleban troops captured at the weekend, were tied up and tortured, before they were killed, some cut to pieces with bayonets, others dragged through the streets behind lorries, others thrown to a baying crowd to be lynched.

Justin Huggler of the British newspaper, independent, claims that the bodies of many Taleban members in the streets are not those of men who died fighting. “They were executed”, he claims.

Many sources claim that while the Northern Alliance command was driving through the streets with loudspeaker messages: “Soldiers, no not loot!”, tens of soldiers were at the same time filling their trucks with everything they could find. The soldiers fighting for General Dostum did the lion’s share of the looting in Kunduz, leaving little for other factions who entered the city later.

There continues to be controversy surrounding the whereabouts of the foreign Al-Qaeda fighters, made up of Chechens, Pakistanis and citizens from other Arab nations. When the Northern Alliance arrived in Kunduz, they had gone. Eyewitnesses claim that for three consecutive nights before the city fell, Pakistani aircraft had airlifted them out. The USA, which claims it was monitoring the airspace, denies this.

With the city totally surrounded by the Northern alliance, this means that either the USA is covering something up, or the Al-Qaeda fighters vanished into thin air.

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY PRAVDA.Ru