Afghans claim abuse by security forces in Chak

KABUL // When Afghan forces finally decided to sweep the Taliban from Chak, residents welcomed the prospect of reconstruction and stability after years of being ignored by the central government.
The sentiments were short-lived.
In place of the insurgent's shadow administration, which dominated the district for years, the army, police, and a militia drawn from the local community have imposed security over the area using harsh methods including intimidation, beatings, and torture, according to a number of residents.
Their predicament is similar to other areas of the country where many Afghans find themselves caught up in a war that is increasingly violent following the withdrawal of most foreign troops last year.
"Afghan forces aren't [like] they were in the past. Now they are brutal, powerful, and do not care about orders they receive from their headquarters," said Rafiullah Rahmati, an NGO worker.
Chak is situated deep in the mountains of Maidan Wardak province, which borders Kabul. Most residents earn a living by farming and selling their produce elsewhere.
The Taliban re-emerged in the district around 2005 and went on to become the main local authority. For several years they ran their own court system, but kept a relatively low profile for fear of being targeted by air strikes.
Although US ground forces ventured into the area for operations and patrols, the government had almost no writ over the population.
The insurgents were local men at first but as the war developed, militants from Waziristan in Pakistan joined them.
After previous forays into the area, the Afghan army began to push hard into Chak early last year and was met by bombs buried in the road that runs through the valley and ambushes by small groups of militants.
Low-level resistance continued for months, but there were never any major pitched battles. Instead, a source close to the insurgents said the Taliban went into hiding and in January the security forces felt confident enough to publicly claim they had control of the district.
But villagers interviewed by The National have suggested this is only half the story. Many claimed to have witnessed abuses by soldiers.
"The style of governance in Kabul and the provinces is not the same. In districts, anyone who is a big warlord or a brutal man is the boss. He decides everything. There is no law and no justice," said a Chak resident who asked to remain anonymous.
He named the main perpetrator of abuses in Chak as Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Dawood, a US-trained commander of the 4th Infantry Brigade, 6th Battalion. Several others also described him as a man who incited fear among the population.
In one instance, villagers in the area of Ambokhak were rounded up by Lt Col Dawood and taken to the site of an insurgent bombing where they were beaten as a warning not to allow other attacks. Lt Col Dawood announced this would be a routine measure in the event of similar incidents elsewhere.
Residents also claim a number of men have had their genitals mutilated by the army as punishment for alleged connections with the insurgency. This has been impossible to verify as the alleged victims are too embarrassed to talk about their injuries.
Lt Col Dawood comes from the district of Paghman in Kabul province and is believed to have served in the mujahideen party Ittihad-e-Islami during the resistance against the Soviets in the 1980s. He was later in the Northern Alliance movement that fought the Taliban.
A member of Chak's Islamic Council described him as "a gangster" and "a criminal". Calls to the ministry of defence regarding these accusations went unanswered.
A UN report published this month found conflict-related civilian casualties increased by 22 per cent in Afghanistan last year. Although insurgents were deemed responsible for the vast majority of these casualties, civilian deaths and injuries caused by "pro-government forces" also rose substantially, as they took on a greater role in the conflict.
The report urged Kabul to investigate allegations of human rights abuses made against the security forces and to punish those responsible.
Waheedullah Wardak, a 32-year-old university graduate, said he had seen and heard soldiers swearing at women while searching his village looking for alleged ISIL sympathisers.
He said residents of Chak are now "like prisoners in a big jail" who have gone from being harassed by the Taliban to being harassed by the security forces.
"They are destroying themselves. People will stand against them if they don't reform their actions and improve their morals," he said. "I think the situation will get much worse in the summer because one side is brutal and other side will be seeking revenge. I don't know what will happen to the local people."
Accompanying the army on the search in his village was a pro-government militia that has been established in the district. Equipped with Kalashnikovs, its members are recruited from the local community.
While hatred for the army seems almost universal in Chak, feelings towards the militiamen are mixed. Some accuse them of carrying out personal vendettas but others say they are more responsible than the soldiers who have been brought in from elsewhere in the country.
The district chief of police, Major Mahmood Shaheedzai, estimated there are approximately 100 pro-government militia members and 55 police in Chak.
He said any abuses by the militia are "a mistake, not a crime" because "they are strongly under our control".
foreign.desk@thenational.ae