Afghan massacre reports firm up

The human rights group, Amnesty International, has published what it says are eyewitness accounts of a massacre of about 300 men, women and children in Afghanistan.

The Taleban authorities deny the killings ever took place.

The accounts speak of Taleban fighters - who recaptured the central district of Yakawlang in Bamiyan province in January - shooting village people dead, and even destroying a mosque in which 73 people were sheltering.

The United Nations demanded an inquiry into the reported atrocities after refugees fled from the area.

Despite extra details collected by human rights groups, the Taleban has insisted the accounts are opposition propaganda.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service