KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Local sources in Afghanistan report two separate but alarming security incidents in Helmand and Balkh provinces, raising renewed concerns over public safety despite Taliban claims of nationwide security.
In southern Helmand province, the body of a young man was found on Wednesday in the Musa Qala district. According to local sources, the body was discovered in the village of Shawarzo earlier in the day.
Sources say there were visible signs of physical abuse on the victim’s body, suggesting he may have been killed under violent circumstances. Taliban forces reportedly transferred the body to a local health center in Musa Qala in an effort to identify the victim and locate his family. The identity of the young man remains unknown, and local Taliban authorities in Helmand have not issued any official statement regarding the incident.
Meanwhile, in northern Balkh province, a two-and-a-half-year-old child has reportedly been abducted in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif. Local sources say the child, named Arshida, was taken on Sunday (January 18), from the Ansari Shish area of District Seven.
According to the sources, the child was abducted by a woman wearing a burqa. No information has yet emerged about the child’s whereabouts or condition.
Taliban officials in Balkh have also not commented on the reported abduction.
Since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, local media and residents have reported an increase in so-called “mysterious killings” as well as multiple cases of child abductions across different provinces. While the Taliban have, in some instances, confirmed abductions and claimed their forces successfully recovered abducted children, many cases remain unresolved.
These incidents come despite repeated assertions by the Taliban that security has significantly improved across Afghanistan following their takeover.
