Kidnapping and murder of children in Afghanistan; citizens blame the Taliban.
Local sources in several provinces of the country say that cases of kidnapping and disappearance of children and adolescents have increased unprecedentedly, causing widespread concern among families.
According to these sources, most of these incidents occur in Kandahar and some southern provinces, and their numbers are increasing at an alarming rate.
Citizens and local sources emphasize that the Taliban have not only been unable to prevent these crimes, but that members and commanders of this group have played a direct role in many cases.
Reports indicate that a number of cases of kidnapping and murder of children and adolescents are deliberately kept secret in Taliban courts and criminal departments so that the perpetrators are protected from exposure.
Sources say these cases are not limited to kidnappings, but in many cases children are brutally murdered after being abducted.
In the most recent case in Helmand province, the son of a businessman was brutally killed after being abducted. Despite the increase in such shocking crimes, the Taliban have taken no effective steps to identify the perpetrators or provide support to the families of the victims, and are themselves the main culprits in some of these attacks on civilians.
