MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan: Daesh fighters who surrendered to Afghan forces this week in the northern province of Jawzjan may be granted amnesty despite accusations of atrocities including rape and murder, officials said.
Around 150 Daesh fighters, including two senior commanders, gave themselves up after being driven from their strongholds in Jawzjan by the Taliban after weeks of fighting.
Thousands of civilians fled the area in the districts of Darzab and Qush Tepa and many accused Daesh fighters of multiple atrocities, giving detailed accounts of women and young girls being taken from their families, raped and, in some cases, murdered.
However the spokesman for the Jawzjan provincial governor said the need to encourage militant fighters to surrender was likely to mean that they would not face charges.
“There is an amnesty for the Daesh group that surrendered in Darzab district,” Mohammad Reza Ghafouri, spokesman for the Jawzjan provincial governor, said.
“The group will not be presented to legal and judicial authorities because they are taking part in the peace process,” he said, adding that people with complaints about individual Daesh members were free to take the matter up with the courts.
Government officials said it was the first time such large numbers of Daesh fighters had surrendered at once. Several women and children, all related to the fighters, had also handed themselves to Afghan authorities.
“Any adversary of the government that joins the peace process has to be given amnesty because if they are taken before the judges, other adversaries who have reached an agreement with the government will go cold on it,” Ghafouri said.
While pressure has been building for peace talks between the Western-backed government in Kabul and the Taliban, the local affiliate of Daesh, which has gained an unmatched reputation for brutality, has shown no signs of joining.
The Taliban, seeking to reimpose strict Islamic law after their 2001 ouster, also took credit for the surrender, saying they had “cleared” Jawzjan.
Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish said the military had done its duty and it was now for the government to decide the next step.
“As defenders of our people and country, our job is to fight our enemy until the battle ground. Now they have surrendered...our job is done,” he said.
Another official, Jawzjan security commander General Faqir Mohammad Jawzjani, said any Daesh fighter who had committed crimes against humanity would face justice and expressed skepticism about any reconciliation.
He said those fighters who surrendered to the government were Afghans, although foreign fighters believed to be in the area may have been killed or captured by the Taliban.
“I am concerned and afraid that after surrendering, these people will commit more crimes because they are completely untrustworthy,” he said.
Amnesty possible for Daesh fighters surrendering in north Afghanistan
Amnesty possible for Daesh fighters surrendering in north Afghanistan
- Around 150 Daesh fighters gave themselves up after being driven from their strongholds in Jawzjan by the Taliban after weeks of fighting
- Government officials said it was the first time such large numbers of Daesh fighters had surrendered at once
Australia’s US ambassador Rudd to step down early
SYDNEY: Australia’s ambassador to the United States Kevin Rudd is stepping down, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday, a year earlier than expected following criticism from US President Donald Trump.
Rudd, a former Australian prime minister, is returning to head the Asia Society think tank and will finish his posting in March, Albanese told a news conference.
“Australia and the United States are the closest of friends and allies, and this will never change,” he said. “We will continue to take forward the important work that Kevin has done, some of it is, of course, ongoing work.”
Rudd had secured continued support for the AUKUS nuclear submarine program, Australia’s largest defense project, from the Trump administration, and negotiated a critical minerals agreement with the US, Albanese said.
Rudd made several comments criticizing Trump before he became ambassador, including calling him “the most destructive president in history.” He later deleted that comment from social media when he was appointed ambassador.
When asked during an October event at the White House during a visit by Albanese about Rudd’s past comments, Trump gestured to the ambassador across the table and said “I don’t like you either, and I probably never will.”
Following criticism from Australia’s opposition, who called for him to be sacked over his remarks about Trump, Albanese said in October that Rudd would serve out his four-year term.
Albanese said the decision to leave the role early was “entirely Kevin Rudd’s decision.” An announcement of Rudd’s replacement would be made at a later date, he said.
A White House official told Reuters when asked about Rudd’s departure: “Ambassador Rudd worked well with President Trump and the administration. We wish him well.”
Rudd wrote on social media platform X that he would remain in the United States, working on “the future of US-China relations, which I have always believed to be the core question for the future stability of our region and the world.”
He had hosted a dinner for Pentagon Under Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby, who conducted a review of AUKUS last year, two days ago, Rudd wrote in an earlier post.
