In a report published Tuesday, the United Nations reported that the Taliban have killed hundreds of former Afghan military, security, and government officials in the two years since the U.S. supported government fell to insurgents.

The investigation revealed that Taliban leader Amir al-Mu’minin had verbally granted amnesty for Afghans who assisted the U.S. military and its allies in their 20-year campaign to eradicate Islamist insurgents. However, they have instead retaliated by attacking former Army personnel and security officers. The U.N. humanitarian arm in Afghanistan reported that between August 15, 2021, and June 30, 2023 at least 200 Afghans were arbitrarily murdered and hundreds more tortured, disappeared, or imprisoned without legal proceedings.

The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan’s report states that there is a “climate fear” among former government officials and the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces.

UNAMA stated that “Members from the de facto authority continue to commit, or fail, to respond to human rights violations carried out with apparent impunity,” The failure of the de facto authorities to uphold their public commitments and hold perpetrators accountable for human rights violations may have serious implications on the future stability in Afghanistan.

According to The Wall Street Journal, tens of thousands former Afghan government officials, security officers, and Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers are still in Afghanistan. They have, for various reason, not fled the country after the Taliban took over in August 2021. The Taliban is not recognized by any country as a legitimate government.

UNAMA has documented over half of all extrajudicial killings since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in four months, with an additional 70 recorded in 2022. Investigators in most cases were unable track down the members or branches of the de-facto government who committed the murders.

More than 144 people reported being tortured and abused by the de facto government, including beaten with pipes and cable and treated to the point of unconsciousness, to make them confess to working for the former ANDSF or the former government.

The Taliban have made promises to investigate incidents, and they have arrested suspect perpetrators. However, the investigation has found that there is little evidence to support the promise of amnesty.

According to a report, when the Taliban acknowledged a killing they often attributed it to “personal animosity or revenge”, and not to official orders.

UNAMA sent a draft report to the Taliban Foreign Ministry, who shared it with the relevant government bodies. In its response, the Taliban reiterated their commitment to amnesty.

“There has not been a single case of non-compliance of the general amnesty order of Amir al-Mu’minin until now.” The Taliban stated that if any official of the Islamic Emirate or its security and defense institutions violates the amnesty decree, it will be investigated and the perpetrators brought before the judicial authorities to be prosecuted.