With thousands dead, Afghans demand investigations into atrocities during US invasion

KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) – The families of thousands of Afghans killed in the US’ 20-year military intervention in the country are now seeking justice for their deceased loved ones.

The 2001 invasion of Afghanistan by US-led coalition forces, launched on the grounds that the ruling Taliban administration had harboured the leader of Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, ended in the withdrawal of foreign troops on the night of August 30, 2021.

More than 47,000 civilians lost their lives during those two decades in what the US called “war on terror,” while the number of Afghans who died while working for the US was 3,846. Over 2,400 US soldiers were also killed.

Though Washington was able to end its longest war by withdrawing its troops, the suffering of Afghan families who lost their members lingers.

Grieving father demands investigation

Having lost his three sons in night operations carried out in 2018 by US soldiers in the eastern village of Vutapur in Kunar province, grieving father Mohammad Ekrem Khan said that his pain was still raw. “I couldn’t even attend the funeral of my young children because the roads were not safe, and that hurts me even more,” said Khan, who was in the capital Kabul during the US troops’ so-called operation that killed his sons Abidullah, 12, Abdul Kahhar, 20, and Abu Zer, 26, in front of their mother.

His memory of the nightmarish day is still vivid. Khan demands an investigation into their deaths and punishment for the perpetrators, asserting that his sons had no connection with “terrorism.”

Recounting their final night together, mother Zainab Khan said: “After my children had dinner, they went to their rooms to sleep. A few minutes later, US helicopters landed in the village. I couldn’t understand what happened.

“Shortly after, US soldiers climbed the wall and raided our house.”

She went on to say that the troops “shot dead three of my sons in front of my eyes, and tortured and took another of my sons with them.”

Mother Khan said she is still unable to forget that moment, even after so many years. She added that life had become meaningless after her sons’ death.

‘All joy of living taken away from me’

Zabanya Khan, the wife of the oldest son Abu Zer, said US troops killed her husband in front of her.

She has been struggling with mental health problems since then.

“With the murder of my husband, all joy of living was taken away from me. I can’t be happy anymore. I try to make a living working on farms. What I think about the most is the future of my children,” she said.

‘I want justice’

Yusuf Khan, whose three brothers were killed by US soldiers, said he was also severely beaten.

“After the US soldiers killed my three brothers, they tortured me and took me to Bagram Airfield. I was held there for 18 days and tortured in the prison.

“I couldn’t even attend my brothers’ funeral. On the 19th day, they released me without saying anything. I want justice.”

Yusuf also demanded that atrocities committed by the US in Afghanistan be brought to light, arguing that thousands of similar incidents had taken place across Afghanistan.

US must pay compensation

Zubeyde Safi, one of the family’s fellow villagers, lost her 40-year-old husband in a 2015 US drone strike.

“A neighbor said that the field where my husband worked had been bombed. I ran to the field and came across my husband’s body, lying in pieces. That moment haunts me,” she said.

Safi is currently struggling to make ends meet with her two daughters, aged 15 and 17. She said her husband was innocent and she wanted the perpetrators punished after an investigation.

She added that the US must pay compensation for the murders committed during the US’s brutal Afghanistan invasion.