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CNN Sunday Morning

U.N. Official Checking Reports of Mass Graves in Afghanistan

Aired April 07, 2002 - 09:24   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: United Nations officials are looking into reports of graves containing large numbers of human bodies. Today they traveled with Afghan government officials to a certain area about 80 miles from Kabul. CNN's Senior International Correspondent Walter Rodgers is standing by live from Kabul with more on this area and the story. Hi, Walt.

WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra. The reports coming into Kabul are that, according to United Nations officials, the officials in the Bamian (ph) Province, the governor's office up there is saying that they have found one grave with 35 to 36 bodies in that single grave, and there are at least two other what are purported to be mass graves at this point.

Now, Bamian is a province where the Hazaras live. These are ethnic Afghanis but they are Shias and they would have run into trouble with the Taliban who are Sunni Muslims. The speculation, of course, is that in those three graves, there may be many, many more bodies to be found. The early indications were that these people were killed, oh within the last year or so in the final days of the Taliban.

And as I say, the Hazaras were Shia Muslims. They were much hated by the Sunnis, who often do not consider the Shias a true branch of Islam, and therefore there are indications that there may indeed have been a massacre up there, again within the last year, in the last days of the Taliban.

The United Nations has a team up there investigating, several officials. They are not back yet today, so we're not sure exactly what they found. The Afghan government itself has its own investigators up there, a separate investigation, but the United Nations officials are saying it is credible, these reports that there are several graves, at least three graves with multiple bodies in them. The exact toll won't be known for some time. Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Walter Rodgers, live in Kabul with the story. Thank you very much.

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