ICRC visits detainees in Taliban custody
By IANSWednesday, December 16, 2009
GENEVA - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has visited three members of Afghan security forces detained by the Taliban, the ICRC said Wednesday.
The meetings took place in Badghis province in north-western Afghanistan at the end of November.
“This is the first time since the beginning of the current conflict that the ICRC has visited people detained by the armed opposition,” said Reto Stocker, ICRC head of delegation in Kabul.
“We welcome this breakthrough. We plan to conduct and repeat visits in other regions, and hope to visit people held by other armed opposition groups, with the aim of ensuring that everyone detained in relation to the armed conflict is treated humanely,” he said.
The ICRC currently visits 136 places of detention in Afghanistan and has registered over 16,000 people since the beginning of the current conflict in 2001.
