KABUL: A community elder from Afghanistan’s Sunni Hazara community has been killed in an armed attack in Dushi district of northern Baghlan province, according to local sources.
The victim was identified as Faiz Mohammad, a community elder in Dushi. According to the sources, Mohammad was killed on Friday night in Zargha village while he was staying at a threshing floor to guard his recently harvested crops. They alleged that armed Gojar Kuchi nomads carried out the attack.
Sources said the killing has heightened concerns over longstanding tensions between Kuchi nomadic groups and settled communities in Dushi district. They also claimed that Mohammad’s brother was killed in an attack by Kuchi groups about six years ago.
The latest incident follows a clash reported about three months ago between residents of Dahan-e Piyazqul village and Kuchi nomads over access to grazing land. Two residents were reportedly injured in that confrontation.
Recurring disputes over land and grazing
Tensions between Kuchi groups and settled communities have been reported in several parts of Afghanistan, particularly over access to farmland, pasture and other natural resources.
A similar incident was reported in June in Panjab district of Bamyan province, where armed Kuchis allowed their livestock to graze on farmland belonging to residents of Tobak and Poshta Gharghari villages.
Residents protested, after which three men – Mohammad Hussain, Jafar and Ali Dad – were assaulted and left seriously injured.
In another reported incident on June 6, five men – Naeem, Mehdi, Habib, Ibrahim and Haji Ishaq – were allegedly assaulted by armed Kuchis in Zarsang village.
Kuchis are traditionally nomadic pastoralist communities who move seasonally in search of pasture and water for their livestock. Their movements have historically brought them into disputes with settled farming communities, particularly in Afghanistan’s central highlands.
Conflicts between Kuchi groups and residents have frequently centred on land ownership, grazing rights and access to natural resources. Such disputes have been particularly sensitive in areas with large Hazara populations.
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Kuchi groups typically move towards central Afghanistan during the spring and summer months with their livestock. Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, residents in some Hazara-populated areas have expressed growing concern over the movement of Kuchi groups into agricultural and grazing areas.
Residents have accused some Kuchi groups of damaging crops, encroaching on farmland and using violence or intimidation during disputes. Several confrontations in recent years have reportedly resulted in injuries and deaths.
Concerns over access to justice
Disputes between Kuchi nomads and settled communities remained unresolved under successive Afghan governments, although authorities and local elders often sought to settle individual conflicts through mediation and negotiations.
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Critics of the Taliban administration, however, argue that the balance has shifted in favour of Kuchi claimants since the Taliban’s return to power. They say some Kuchi groups have benefited from longstanding seasonal grazing routes and greater access to the current authorities.
Hazara residents in areas affected by such disputes have also alleged that Taliban courts have frequently favoured Kuchi claimants in land-related cases, leaving some residents with limited avenues to challenge decisions or protect their property rights.
The latest killing in Baghlan is therefore renewing concerns over unresolved land and grazing disputes, as well as the security of communities caught up in longstanding tensions between nomadic and settled populations.
