Taleban accused of killing civilians in Afghanistan

A leader of the anti-Taleban alliance in north-west Afghanistan, General Abdul Rashid Dostum, has accused the Taleban forces of killing civilians in what the alliance described as a major atrocity.

In the latest in a series of massacre allegations from the area, General Dostum told the BBC that the killings in the Qesar districttook place as his forces made significant territorial gains and the Taleban retreated.

United Nations representatives in the region say they will launch an enquiry.

A Taleban spokesman said that the massacre allegation is absolutely untrue.

There have been no independent reports from the area.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service