Aatash.org, April 10, 2008

Mass grave discovered in Afghan north

“Dead bodies of locals and everyone who were killed during the war were brought here in trucks.”

A mass grave containing allegedly more than 100 dead bodies is discovered in Chehl Gazi Village - around 10km west of Mazar-e Sharif city in Afghan north.

The skulls and other stones and the cloths were covered with earth. More than 100 dead bodies will probably be buried inside the mass grave.

In an area where a gravel production factory has dug most of the land to produce gravel only around 150 sq. m. land is left untouched erected like a small mountain with a height of almost 7m.

On one side of the mount a hole is opened and stones of men and their cloths clearly indicate a big mass grave in the small mount.

Nazar baay, 52, a resident of Chehl Gazi Village of Nahr-e Shahi District, Balkh Province links the grave to the mass killing by the Taliban when they captured Mazar-e Sharif city – the main base of Northern alliance – for the second time in 1998. “After the Taliban captured Mazar-e Sharif city, they announced a mass killing for three days and brought dead bodies from various parts of the city here” said Nazar baay.

The Taliban first captured Mazar-e Sharif city in 1997. Then, they were defeated by northern alliance and allegedly thousands of them were murdered. In 1998, when the Taliban took the city again, a three-day mass killing was ordered.

Haji Abdol Ghani, 47, who has lived all his life in the village and is now the chief of the village, said, “Dead bodies of locals and everyone who were killed during the war were brought here in trucks.”

Down the mass grave, district policemen could bring out some stones and cloths of men with bare hand. Skulls were lined up and other stones of parts of body and cloths were pilled at the bottom the small mass grave hill.

According to Mr Ghani the corpses were thrown in a hole in the area and were then covered by villagers. “The corpses were thrown here for days, around 15 days and villages around the area were covered with its bad smell, and finally we - the villager – dared to go to the Taliban governor and asked for permission to bury the deaths,” said Mr Ghani.

Aug.5, 2007- Kabu: More than 100 people, many of them widows, called for international help in identifying remains found in the mass grave to be uncovered in Afghanistan.

Though, only eight skulls and lots of stones of other parts of body have been discovered from a small hole of the mass grave, the specific number of the dead bodies in the mass grave is yet not clear.

Shoib, a member of criminal technique team of Balkh police, inspecting the area said, “More than 100 dead bodies will probably be buried inside the mass grave.”

Shoib checked pockets of cloths discovered from the grave whether he could find any document to identify the corpses.

Balkh Provincial Security Commander Sardar Mohammad Sultani visiting the site of the mass grave told journalists that it was not a hidden mass grave.

He said, “It is not a hidden mass grave, most local villagers knew about it and even the factory workers knew about it that is why they left the area untouched.”

Mr Sultani said a delegation from Kabul would come to investigate it.

Responding the question that why the government has not done anything in the past six years to deal with the mass grave Balkh security commander said, “We had not received any claims or complaints from anyone.”

The skulls and other stones and the cloths were covered with earth again until a delegation from capital Kabul arrives.

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