The New York Times - USA (2020-07-28)

THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONALTUESDAY, JULY 28, 2020 Y A

The numbers still represented

an overall 13 percent reduction in

civilian casualties — which ac-

counts for injuries and deaths —

from the same period last year.

That is largely attributed to a

major drop in casualties from

United State airstrikes and at-

tacks by the Islamic State branch

in the country, which has shrunk

significantly after major military

operations. As part of a withdraw-

al deal signed with the Taliban in

February, the United States is no

longer deploying its air power

against the group except in ex-

treme cases, such as when their

Afghan allies are being routed.

Although the United States has

reduced its troops in the country

to about 8,600 — it is on schedule

to complete a full withdrawal over

a 14-month period laid out in the

agreement — other elements of

the peace agreement, mainly di-

KABUL, Afghanistan — The
Taliban abducted and executed a
female prison guard in the eastern
Afghan province of Ghazni, offi-
cials and relatives said Monday,
as the United Nations expressed
concern over the war’s unending
toll on civilians.
Fatima Rajabi, 23, who had
trained as a police officer, was
pulled out of a civilian minibus on
her way to her home village in the
Jaghori district two weeks ago. Af-
ter holding her captive for two
weeks, the Taliban executed the
young woman and sent her body
to her family, her brother, Samiul-
lah Rajabi, said.
“My sister was shot eight
times,” Mr. Rajabi said. “When we
opened the coffin, her hands were
behind her, together and stiff —
you could tell her hands were first
tied and they had only untied
them after they sent the body.”
The United Nations, in a report
released on Monday on civilian
harm in the Afghan conflict in the
first six months of the year, ex-
pressed particular concern about
the rise of abductions and execu-
tions by the Taliban. There has
been an increase of more than a
fivefold in civilian casualties tied
to abductions since last year, it
said.
Nearly 1,300 civilians have
been killed and close to 2,200 oth-
ers wounded in the first six
months of the year, according to
the United Nations, which attrib-
uted 43 percent of the civilian cas-
ualties to the Taliban and 23 per-
cent to Afghan forces.
It said the insurgent violence
had grown deadlier, with a 33 per-
cent increase in deaths caused by
the Taliban over the same time pe-
riod last year.
Women and children made up
about 40 percent of the overall
dead and injured, with pro-gov-
ernment forces responsible for
the deaths of more children than
the Taliban, the United Nations
said. Civilian casualties from
airstrikes by Afghan forces tripled
from the first half of 2019.
“The reality remains that Af-
ghanistan continues to be one of
the deadliest conflicts in the world
for civilians,” the report noted.
“Each year, thousands of civilians
are killed and injured, abducted,
displaced and threatened by par-
ties to the conflict in Afghanistan.”

rect negotiations between the Af-

ghan sides over future power-

sharing, have stalled as the vio-

lence continues.

“At a time when the govern-

ment of Afghanistan and the Tal-

iban have a historic opportunity to

come together at the negotiating

table for peace talks, the tragic re-

ality is that the fighting continues

inflicting terrible harm to civilians

every day,” said Deborah Lyons,

the United Nations secretary-gen-

eral’s special representative for

Afghanistan.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the United

States’ special envoy for peace in

Afghanistan, has begun another

trip to meet with the Taliban’s ne-

gotiating team, based in Doha, Qa-

tar, and Afghan leaders in Kabul

and push for direct negotiations,

the State Department said. Those

negotiations were expected to be-

gin in March, but were delayed by

disagreements over a prisoner

swap under which the Afghan

government was expected to free

5,000 Taliban fighters in return for

1,000 of its forces.

Jaghori, where Ms. Rajabi was

traveling to see her family at the

time of her abduction, was long

considered one of the safest dis-

tricts in a volatile region inhabited

by the Hazara ethnic group. But in

2018, the Taliban launched an as-

sault on the area and nearly took

control, before being pushed back.

The insurgents have increas-

ingly threatened the highways

and main roads across Afghani-

stan, taxing commercial vehicles

and searching buses for anyone

suspected of working for the gov-

ernment.

Mr. Rajabi said his sister would

often travel home unannounced to

reduce the risk of being detained.

Her family found out she was tak-

en by the Taliban only after five

days had passed.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokes-

man for the Taliban, denied that

the group was behind the execu-

tion.

But local officials said the Tal-

iban had been using Ms. Rajabi to

pressure local leaders into resolv-

ing certain outstanding issues,

possibly including taxes that the

Taliban believe they are owed.

“The Taliban were angry that de-

spite repeated notices, the leaders

hadn’t reported to them,” said Mo-

hamad Ayub Bahonar, the district

governor of Jaghori.

Ms. Rajabi’s 70-year mother,

Mariam Akbari, traveled to the

Taliban-held area to beg for her

daughter’s release. The Taliban

told her she must bring 15 district

leaders who they wanted to talk to

— something that was out of her

power, she said.

“I went and begged, I lowered

myself at their feet, so my sweet

daughter could come back to me

alive,” Ms. Akbari said. “They told

me ‘You are old, we respect you,

but don’t come again.’ ”

Ms. Akbari had already lost one

son, a police officer, to the war

about 10 years ago. One of her two

remaining sons lives with her and

has a heart condition, and the

other has lived in Iran for years

without much contact with the

family.

“I really loved my daughter,”

she said. “She had joined the po-

lice out of poverty. Fatima was my

only breadwinner.”

The Jaghori district of Afghanistan. Fatima Rajabi was on her way to her home village there when she was abducted by the Taliban.

JIM HUYLEBROEK FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Female Guard Is Latest Target of Taliban Violence

By MUJIB MASHAL

and NAJIM RAHIM

Top, a protest in Herat, Afghanistan, over civilian casualties.

Above, airstrike victims at a Herat hospital. The U.N. says nearly

1,300 Afghan civilians were killed in the first half of 2020.

JALIL REZAYEE/EPA, VIA SHUTTERSTOCK

JALIL REZAYEE/EPA, VIA SHUTTERSTOCK

The rubber dinghy packed tight
with more that 95 people was bob-
bing helplessly in the Mediterra-
nean on Sunday when the pas-
sengers issued a distress call, but
help would not come anytime
soon.
In the end, it took more than 33
hours — and the pressure of activ-
ists and nongovernmental groups
— before the Maltese authorities
launched a rescue operation.
All onboard were eventually
brought to shore, but the incident,
the latest of dozens like it in recent
weeks, has raised questions about
the risk to human life posed by
policies intended to deter mi-
grants from crossing the Mediter-
ranean.
The dinghy carrying the mi-
grants, who were said to be from
Eritrea, was one of dozens of ves-
sels left adrift in the central Medi-
terranean in recent months, said
Flavio Di Giacomo, spokesman
for the International Organization
for Migration.
“The recurring delays that we
are witnessing in rescuing people
this year are unacceptable,” Mr. Di
Giacomo said in a phone inter-
view. “They put people’s lives at

risk. These boats are unfit to sail,

they can go down any time.”

The migrants on the over-

crowded dinghy Sunday con-

tacted Alarm Phone, a watchdog

group that often acts as first point

of call for migrants adrift in the

Mediterranean. The group says it

alerted the authorities — but

hours later, there was still no res-

cue in sight.

“A merchant vessel is monitor-

ing the situation but not providing

assistance,” Alarm Phone wrote in

a post on Twitter on Monday

morning. “How long will the peo-

ple be left suffering & at risk of

drowning? How long can they sur-

vive?”

Hours later, the International

Organization for Migration ech-

oed the concern.

“Around 95 migrants are still

floating in the Central Mediterra-

nean at risk of drowning, after at-

tempting to flee Libya,” it said.

Not until Monday afternoon did

the armed forces of Malta report-

edly bring the group to shore.

Activists have lamented the

scarcity of independent rescue

ships in the central Mediterra-

nean, which has become a major

crossing for migrants escaping

war-torn Libya, and is one of the

world’s most dangerous passages.

Last week, Italy’s Coast Guard

blocked the last ship operating for

the migrant rescue organization

SOS Mediterranée, citing admin-

istrative failures. In a statement,

the organization said that the

move was “aimed at impeding our

lifesaving work,” and at discour-

aging other groups from doing the

same. The Italian authorities also

detained the vessel of another aid

group, the Sea-Watch 3.

These organizations have car-

ried out the bulk of rescue opera-

tions in the Mediterranean in re-

cent years since, particularly af-

ter Italy signed a memorandum of

understanding with Libya in 2017

that effectively delegated most of

the operations to the Libyan Coast

Guard.

In recent years, thousands of

migrants have died while attempt-

ing the crossing. Two-hundred

and seventy have drowned since

January alone.

This year, the coronavirus pan-

demic has made the situation still

more complicated. Italy and Malta

have both declared their ports not

safe for migrants because of the

public health threat.

Malta, a tiny island nation, has

been on the front line of the migra-

tion route for years. Its govern-

ment has long been accused by

migrant advocates of responding

slowly — or not at all — to distress

calls coming from their large

search and rescue zone, and of al-

lowing the Libyan Coast Guard to

take back migrants who had al-

ready made it into their area of re-

sponsibility.

Now, with the onset of the virus,

Malta says it is too overwhelmed

to do rescues.

But it did secretly dispatch a

fleet of private vessels in April to

intercept migrants and return

them by force to Libya, according

to information provided by the

captain of one of the boats, a sen-

ior commander in the Libyan

Coast Guard, and a former Mal-

tese official involved in the

episode, who spoke to The New

York Times earlier this year.

That same month, 12 migrants

died in a shipwreck that occurred

after their rubber boat had been

left adrift for days. The 51 sur-

vivors were returned to Tripoli.

In Italy, processing procedures

for migrants who arrive by boat

have become lengthier because of

the pandemic, and the govern-

ment has been struggling to find

places to quarantine migrants.

Last week, Matteo Salvini, a far-

right politician and former deputy

prime minister, visited the island

of Lampedusa, south of Sicily,

where he drew on the mounting

anger of the mayor.

“This is not immigration, it’s

chaos,” Mr. Salvini said in a video

posted on his Facebook account.

“It’s 800 people in a hot spot that

can accommodate 90 people.”

“They are on the roof, they are

everywhere,” he said.

Small wooden boats carrying

migrants from Tunisia have

landed on the shores of Lampe-

dusa for years. But the number of

migrant arrivals this year is far

smaller than in the past.

Migrants Are Left Adrift in Mediterranean Before Malta, Under Pressure, Launches Rescue

By GAIA PIANIGIANI

Migrants on a Maltese military ship on Monday. All were even-

tually taken to shore after 33 hours drifting at sea.

DARRIN ZAMMIT LUPI/REUTERS

JERUSALEM — The Israeli

military said Monday that it had

thwarted a raid by a Hezbollah

“terrorist squad” in a disputed

area along its northern border

with Lebanon, resulting in an ex-

change of fire that capped days of

mounting tension there.

An Israeli military spokesman

said that a small squad armed

with assault rifles had crossed an

unfenced section of the boundary

into Israel by a few yards.

Israeli forces responded, firing

small arms, tank guns and then

artillery, the spokesman, Lt. Col.

Jonathan Conricus, said. The

squad fled back into Lebanon, he

said, and then fired back at Israel.

Hezbollah, the Lebanese mili-

tant organization, denied that

there had been an exchange of

fire, saying the only firing had

come from the Israeli side.

“Everything that the enemy’s

media is claiming in terms of foil-

ing an infiltration operation” is

“absolutely not true,” Hezbollah

said in a statement. “It is an at-

tempt to invent false and mythical

victories.”

No casualties were reported by

either side.

Israel had been bracing for re-

taliation from Hezbollah since the

killing of one of its operatives in a

strike in Syria last week that was

attributed to Israel.

Hezbollah said Monday that re-

taliation was still coming, as well

as retaliation for the shelling on

Monday. Lebanese television re-

ported shelling near the Lebanese

village of Kafr Shuba.

“The Zionists only need to con-

tinue waiting for the punishment

for their crimes,” the Hezbollah

statement said.

On Monday afternoon, amid

preliminary reports of explosions,

smoke and cross-border fire, the

Israeli military instructed resi-

dents of northern Israel to remain

indoors and closed roads in the

area. But the restrictions were

lifted less than two hours later, a

sign that calm had been restored

and an apparent indication that Is-

rael did not intend to prolong the

confrontation.

The events took place in the vi-

cinity of Shebaa Farms — known

in Israel as Mount Dov — a strip

claimed by Israel, Lebanon and

sometimes Syria near the inter-

section of all three nations and ad-

jacent to the Golan Heights.

Israel’s defense minister, Benny

Gantz, had visited the northern

border on Sunday as anticipation

of a retaliatory attack by Hezbol-

lah grew.

Syria’s state-run news agency,

SANA, reported that Israeli air-

craft had fired rockets toward

southern Damascus on July 20.

Though Israel rarely takes re-

sponsibility publicly for specific

strikes, it has acknowledged car-

rying out scores of attacks aimed,

it says, at preventing the transfer

of sophisticated weapons from

Iran to Hezbollah via Syria.

After last week’s strike on an

ammunition depot near the Da-

mascus airport, Hezbollah said

that one of its operatives, Ali

Kamel Mohsen, was killed in an

act of “Zionist aggression.”

The killing appeared to violate

informal rules of engagement be-

tween Israel and Hezbollah.

In recent years, Hezbollah has

refrained from killing Israelis

while Israel has largely avoided

killing Hezbollah fighters in Syria.

Both sides want to press their

points while avoiding a war that

could devastate Lebanon and Is-

rael.

In a television interview on

Sunday, Naim Qassem, the deputy

secretary general of Hezbollah,

described the Hezbollah fighter

killed in Syria as a martyr and

said the group would uphold the

rules of engagement.

“The deterrence equation with

Israel is standing,” he said on the

Arabic news channel Al

Mayadeen. “Amending or chang-

ing the rules of engagement or the

deterrence equation are not on

our agenda.”

Israel contends that Hezbollah,

with Iran’s help, is trying to build a

fleet of precision-guided missiles,

which Israel considers a red line.

Last August, an Israeli drone

struck a building near Beirut that

Israeli officials said contained ma-

chinery for making those missiles.

Prime Minister Benjamin Ne-

tanyahu said Monday that offi-

cials were closely monitoring the

situation in the north.

“Hezbollah needs to know that

it’s playing with fire,” he said. “Ev-

ery attack against us will be an-

swered with great might.”

He said that Israel “will not al-

low Iran to entrench itself militari-

ly on our border with Syria” and

warned that “Lebanon and

Hezbollah will bear responsibility

for any attack” originating from

Lebanese territory.

Israel and Hezbollah fought a

devastating, monthlong war in

2006. There have only been spo-
      radic clashes across the Israel-
      Lebanon border in recent years.
      Monday’s events came as many
      Israelis, largely barred from trav-
      eling abroad because of a spike in
      coronavirus infections, were va-
      cationing in the north.

Israel Claims to Push Back

Raid by Hezbollah Squad

Along the Northern Border

By ISABEL KERSHNER

Israeli armored vehicles along the border with Lebanon. Hezbol-

lah denied any exchange of fire with Israeli troops in the area.

JALAA MAREY/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES

Adam Rasgon contributed report-

ing from Jerusalem, and Vivian

Yee from Beirut, Lebanon.

An alleged skirmish

near the intersection

of three countries.