“Amnesty International (AI) issued the first statement on September 3 [1998] that the Taliban had killed ‘thousands of civilians’ following the takeover of Mazar-i-Sharif [Afghanistan]. ‘The victims were killed deliberately and arbitrarily in their homes, in the streets where their bodies were left for several days, or in locations between Mazar-i-Sharif and Hairatan. Many of those killed were civilians, including women, children, and the elderly, who were shot trying to flee the city,’ AI said, citing survivors and eyewitnesses.”
– Roy Gutman, How We Missed the Story, Page 149