Dasht-i-Leili massacre
The Dasht-i-Leili massacre occurred in December 2001 during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan when 250 to 2,000 Taliban prisoners were shot and/or suffocated to death in metal shipping containers while being transferred by Junbish-i Milli soldiers under the supervision of forces loyal to General Rashid Dostum from Kunduz to Sheberghan prison in Afghanistan. The site of the graves is believed to be in the Dasht-e Leili desert just west of Sheberghan, in the Jowzjan Province.
| Dasht-i-Leili massacre | |
|---|---|
A picture of a mass grave from the Dasht-i-Leili massacre published by the United Nations and Physicians for Human Rights. | |
Dasht-i-Leili massacre (Afghanistan) | |
| Location | West of Sheberghan, Jowzjan Province, Afghanistan |
| Coordinates | 36°39′24.17″N 65°42′20.71″E |
| Date | December 2001 |
| Target | Taliban prisoners of war |
Attack type | Massacre |
| Deaths | 250–2,000 |
| Perpetrators | Soldiers of the National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan |
| Assailants | Abdul Rashid Dostum (alleged, denied by Dostum) |
Some of the prisoners were survivors of the Battle of Qala-i-Jangi in Mazar-i-Sharif. In 2009, Dostum denied the accusations. According to all sources, many of the prisoners died from suffocation inside the containers, and some witnesses claimed that those who survived were shot. The dead were buried in a mass grave under the authority of Commander Kamal.
The allegations have been investigated since 2002 by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR). PHR conducted two forensic missions to the site under the auspices of the United Nations in 2002. In 2008, PHR reported that the grave had been tampered with.