KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – At least 768 people, including women and children, were killed or injured in various incidents across Afghanistan in 2024, according to a new report by the UK-based human rights group Rawadari.
In its annual report, released on Wednesday, Rawadari said 544 people—among them 40 women and 101 children—were killed during the year. An additional 224 people, including seven women and 60 children, were injured.
The organization reported a similar toll in 2023, with 772 people killed or wounded.
The report said the casualties were caused by targeted bombings, suicide attacks, explosive remnants of war, and extrajudicial killings. The victims included former government employees, their families, tribal elders, Taliban opponents, and critics.
While civilian casualties from suicide attacks dropped by 27.8% compared to the previous year, those from landmines and unexploded ordnance rose by 51.4%. Mysterious, targeted, and extrajudicial killings increased by 1.6%, while killings of former government employees rose by 9.6%.
The report also noted that killings of civilians accused of collaborating with opposition groups doubled, and enforced disappearances increased by 70%.
Rawadari documented 885 detentions by the Taliban in 2024, a 42% increase from the previous year. The detainees included 142 former government employees, a 20.3% rise, and 282 people accused of collaborating with opposition groups, a figure that doubled from 2023.
The rights group attributed the rise in detentions to the Taliban’s enforcement of the “Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice” law, noting that force and violent methods, including arrests and imprisonment, were used to implement the law.
Rawadari also reported that at least 524 individuals were publicly flogged in 2024. Two people were executed for murder, and two women were stoned for alleged illicit relationships.
The report highlighted the Taliban’s continued discrimination against women and ethnic and religious minorities, accusing the group of denying these populations equal access to government services, national resources, and humanitarian aid.
The Taliban authorities have not commented on Rawadari’s findings. However, they have previously dismissed similar reports, claiming that they have maintained security and upheld the rights of all citizens.
