KABUL - President Ashraf Ghani said Saturday that a preliminary assessment of Kunduz city shows that the Taliban's actions against the people of Kunduz city are crimes against humanity and that those guilty will be identified and brought to justice.

"Taliban and their terrorist collaborators in addition to causing fear and intimidation among the citizens of Kunduz, have resorted to extrajudicial killings of civil and military individuals and residents of Kunduz as well as torturing and harassing them".

He said in a statement issued by the Presidential Palace that the Taliban has violated people's dignity and honor, resorted to rape, and set free the prisoners most of who had been convicted of murder or violation of people's dignity and property.

"They looted people's belongings and government's property, set fire to a number of government buildings including those of Radio and Television, educational and higher educational institutions, and have inflicted severe losses on the business and commerce of the people of Kunduz province," the statement read.

"They have also looted the belongings and properties of United Nations offices, and other NGOs, consulates and representations of foreign countries."

He went on to say that these acts - as reported in the latest release by Amnesty International - during armed conflicts are recognized on the basis of humanitarian laws as crimes against humanity.

"The government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is committed to legally prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes, and to that end assigns a civilian commission to assess the losses sustained as a result of the Taliban presence in Kunduz City and the crimes that they have committed in this period, determine the scale of the losses, identify those responsible and surrender them to Law," the statement read. (Tolonews)