The UN said Taliban captives in Afghanistan have been subjected to abuse, ill-treatment and actions that may amount to torture.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said it interviewed 13 detainees from a group of 53 recently rescued from the Taliban. They were mainly members of the Afghan forces but also civilians and government officials captured by the Taliban.

The group was freed on April 25 when Afghan troops raided a Taliban-run detention facility in the Khas Uruzgan district in southern Uruzgan province.

The UNAMA statement, released on Sunday, said most of the captives were held since 2018, with three since 2016. It said they were kept in poor conditions and subjected to forced labour. The statement cited the detainees as saying that the Taliban killed some of their captives.