The Taliban has been accused of human rights violations during clashes with resistance forces in Panjshir province, to the north of Kabul.

According to a local resident, the party that seized power in Afghanistan last August shot an unarmed elderly relative. Another witnessed a neighbor being beaten unconscious by the Taliban.

A local Taliban spokesman denied that any violations had occurred or that any members of the group had been slain.

The combat is localized and does not pose a threat to the Taliban’s control of Afghanistan at this time, but it is the most consistent armed opposition the group has faced since taking power.

During the Taliban’s initial reign of terror in the 1990s, Panjshir was a hotbed of anti-Taliban opposition.

In recent days, National Resistance Front fighters started a guerrilla campaign on Taliban forces in the area, prompting the Taliban to send reinforcements to Panjshir.

Ahmad Massoud, the son of a prominent anti-Taliban fighter who fled Afghanistan after the Taliban took power, leads the NRF.

Former Afghan army commandos have also lent their assistance to the organization.

Local sources informed the BBC on condition of anonymity that the brawl was sparked by a religious disagreement. According to them, the Taliban attempted to arrest a Panjshiri priest who ordered that the Muslim celebration of Eid should be observed a day later than the Taliban had decreed.

Taliban forces were ambushed, and a number of people were killed, according to Taliban officials.

Details on casualty numbers, as well as the scope of the combat, are difficult to come by. The Taliban appear to be downplaying the fighting, while the NRF’s statements are frequently inflated. According to two local reports, the Taliban have so far killed roughly 15 unarmed people in Panjshir.

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