UN: Almost 400 civilians killed since Taliban takeover of Afghanistan

Almost 400 civilians have been killed since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August, according to the United Nations. 

The U.N.’s first major human rights report since the U.S. withdrawal from Kabul indicated that more than 80 percent of the civilians were killed at the hands of a group affiliated with the Islamic State.

More than 50 people with suspected ties to the Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) were also killed from Aug. 15 to Feb. 15, including some who were tortured and beheaded before their bodies were left in public locations.

“The human rights situation for many Afghans is of profound concern,” Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said in a news release.

Bachelet pointed in particular to concerns over the treatment of women in Afghanistan, calling for them to be allowed “to fully participate in all aspects of civic, economic, political and public life.”

At the end of last month, the Taliban said women were only permitted to travel with a chaperone and announced that it would no longer allow Afghans to leave the country without a good reason.

“The government is obliged to find out a way to protect their people,” Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said of the decision, citing religious laws.

Since the Taliban took over Kabul in August, thousands of Afghans have escaped the country, especially those who are fearful of the consequences of their past connections to the U.S.

In recent months, Afghanistan has been on the brink of economic collapse and has also suffered a severe humanitarian crisis, with the United Nations warning in September that 1 million Afghans were near starvation at the time.