08/31/2021 Afghanistan (International Christian Concern) – As the final U.S. plane took off from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, it marked the end of a twenty-year conflict marked by a series of setbacks, frustrations, and mission drift for the United States. The U.S. was able to bring some modernization to the country but ultimately failed to secure Afghanistan’s future free from Taliban rule. After twenty years, the Taliban once again assumed control of the country on August 15th, sparking a disastrous evacuation effort for U.S. personnel.
The withdrawal creates an uncertain future for the country’s Christian community, which has been severely persecuted already and remembers the days of Taliban dictatorship in the late 1990s. Those years were marked by oppression, violence, hate, and discrimination against various communities, including Christians. Images of Taliban brutality have already surfaced, documenting the Taliban using U.S. aircraft to hang an unidentified individual as they flew over the capital city of Kabul.
The Taliban’s history of violence overshadows their promises of a general amnesty and claims to have modernized during America’s war in Afghanistan. In that war, the Taliban operated by guerilla warfare, running an insurgency marked by extreme violence and the targeting of civilians.
The Church in Afghanistan sees these realities and knows what the Taliban truly represents.
“Christians on the ground will need advocacy and assistance now more than ever,” said Matias Perttula, Director of Advocacy for International Christian Concern. “They will be targeted, and the Taliban will likely impose extreme measures to suppress the church.”
For interviews, please contact Addison Parker: press@persecution.org
