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Taliban now guard site of Bamiyan Buddhas they destroyed

The monuments in Bamiyan province had stood for 1,500 years but their destruction was ordered in 2001 by that regime -- already infamous then after banning television and imposing ultra-strict rules governing the conduct of women -- for being against the Muslim faith.

Michel Moutot (AFP)
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Bamiyan, Afghanistan
Sun, October 10, 2021

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 Taliban now guard site of Bamiyan Buddhas they destroyed Athletes run uphill as they warm up before they train in Muay Thai form of martial arts atop the hills of Salsal Buddha, the site of the Buddhas of Bamiyan statues, which were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001, in Bamiyan province on March 14, 2021. (AFP/Wakil Koshar)

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aliban gunmen now stand guard at the gaping rock cavities that once housed two ancient statues of the Buddha -- desecrated with dynamite by the Islamists during their last stint in power.

The monuments in Bamiyan province had stood for 1,500 years but their destruction was ordered in 2001 by that regime -- already infamous then after banning television and imposing ultra-strict rules governing the conduct of women -- for being against the Muslim faith.

Hundreds of cadres from across the country spent more than three weeks demolishing the towering statues carved into the side of a cliff, sparking a global outcry.

"The Buddhas were destroyed by the Taliban authorities in 2001," reads a bronze plaque set in the stone, while the white flag of the country's new leaders flutters on a nearby gatehouse. 

Two young fighters loiter listlessly just yards away.

Afghanistan's new Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund was "one of the architects of the destruction of Buddhas", according to historian Ali A. Olomi of Penn State Abington University.

Asked if it had been a good idea to blow up the statues -- regarded as one of the greatest crimes against world heritage -- young Taliban member Saifurrahman Mohammadi does not hide his embarrassment.

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