Dasht-i-Leili massacre | |
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Location | West of Sheberghan, Jowzjan Province, Afghanistan |
Coordinates | 36°39′24.17″N 65°42′20.71″E / 36.6567139°N 65.7057528°E |
Date | December 2001 |
Target | Taliban prisoners of war |
Attack type | Massacre |
Deaths | 250–2,000 |
Perpetrators | Soldiers of the National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan |
Assailants | Abdul Rashid Dostum (alleged, denied by Dostum) |
The Dasht-i-Leili massacre occurred in December 2001 during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan when 250 to 2,000 Taliban prisoners were shot and/or suffocated to death in metal shipping containers while being transferred by Junbish-i Milli soldiers under the supervision of forces loyal to General Rashid Dostum[1][2][3] from Kunduz to Sheberghan prison in Afghanistan. The site of the graves is believed to be in the Dasht-e Leili desert just west of Sheberghan, in the Jowzjan Province.[4][5][6][7]
Some of the prisoners were survivors of the Battle of Qala-i-Jangi in Mazar-i-Sharif. In 2009, Dostum denied the accusations.[8][9][10] According to all sources, many of the prisoners died from suffocation inside the containers, and some witnesses claimed that those who survived were shot. The dead were buried in a mass grave under the authority of Commander Kamal.[citation needed]
The allegations have been investigated since 2002 by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR). PHR conducted two forensic missions to the site under the auspices of the United Nations in 2002.[11] In 2008, PHR reported that the grave had been tampered with.[12]
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