With U.S. troops leaving, the Taliban advancing, and a steady collapse of security force bases and outposts, the Hazara and other ethnic groups in Afghanistan are raising militias.
Author: DAVID ZUCCHINO and FATIMA FAIZI
‘I Could Just Vanish’: In Kabul, Pocket Notes to Prevent Anonymous Death
As violence engulfs them, some Afghans carry notes with their names, blood types and relatives’ phone numbers in case they are killed or severely wounded.
In Former Taliban Stronghold, Defiant Women Hit the Gym
A women’s health club in Kandahar challenges conservative Afghan traditions that vilify exercise for women. Many work out secretly.
After Losing His Legs to a Bomb, Afghan Veteran Is on a New Journey
Mirza Hussain Haidari now drives a taxi, modified with a device he designed himself. “I’ve lost my legs, but not my mind,” he said.
U.S. Envoy Says Afghans Coerced Retraction of Rape Allegations
Ambassador John R. Bass says the Afghan spy agency used “Soviet-style tactics.”
3 Afghan Schools, 165 Accounts of Students Being Raped
An advocacy group says it has documented systematic sexual abuse by teachers, principals and other authorities of dozens of boys in one rural area.
Afghanistan Presidential Vote Presses On Despite Concerns About Legitimacy
Accusations of systemic fraud and fears of Taliban threats have compromised an election that is likely to have the fewest voters since the first presidential vote in 2004.
At a Maternity Center Near a War Zone, 20 Births in One Day
A hospital in a remote area of Afghanistan is a haven for impoverished mothers and newborns in a country ravaged by war.
In Kabul’s Liberating Cafes, ‘Women Make the Culture Here, Not Men’
As peace talks threaten Afghan women’s hard-won freedoms, they find sanctuary in coffee shops and enjoy the free conversation, and mingling with men, permitted there.
Kabul Dispatch: ‘Memory Boxes’ Offer Poignant Reminders of Afghan Lives Lost to Violence
Afghan families lovingly preserve the basic belongings of loves ones killed in attacks — sandals, toys — in memory boxes that are expressions of both grief and healing.