| Afghanistan's main rights body yesterday said troops were beheaded and skinned during a four-day battle between rival warlords in western province Herat last month, underlining tensions as October polls near. Nader Ahmad Nadery of Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission said the organisation had found several cases of "beheading and skinning" during recent factional fighting in Herat's Shindand district. Clashes raged for four days in mid-August between troops loyal to Amanullah Khan, a militia commander now under house arrest in Kabul, and forces loyal to Herat governor Ismael Khan, close to the region's richest city Herat, the provincial capital. "Four people were beheaded and a commander was skinned by Amanullah's men," Nadery said. Rights workers also found several cases of robbery and intimidation of women by Amanullah's armed men during the battle. "We have seen cases of robbery and some women were beaten," he said. A broader investigation by the rights watchdog and the United Nations was underway, he added. |