Over 100 former Afghan security officials have been killed by the Taliban since it re-took control of the country in August, according to a UN report.

At least 72 of the more than 100 alleged killings have been attributed to the Taliban, Nada al-Nashif, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, said.

“In several cases, the bodies were publicly displayed. This has exacerbated fear among this sizeable category of the population,” al-Nashif said in a speech to the Human Rights Council.

In addition, at least 50 suspected members of a local affiliate of Islamic State, known as ISIS-Khorasan and a rival of the Taliban, died by hanging and beheading.

The UN also accused the Taliban of recruiting boy soldiers and quashing women’s rights.

Families face “severe poverty and hunger” this winter amid reports of child labour, early marriages and “even the sale of children”, al-Nashif added.

At least eight Afghan activists and two journalists have also been killed since August, plus around 59 unlawful imprisonments by the Taliban have taken place.

Al-Nashif added: “The safety of Afghan judges, prosecutors, and lawyers - particularly women legal professionals - is a matter for particular alarm.”

In August, the Taliban overtook the Afghan government following withdrawal of Western troops from the country.

On 15 August, the capital of Kabul fell to the terrorist group and thousands of Afghans have fled the country since.

“With the military takeover of Kabul by the Taliban, not only we see a total reversal of two decades of advances... but the group is also committing a litany of abuses with full impunity which in many cases is going unreported and undocumented,” Nasir Ahmad Andisha, a permanent representative of Afghanistan to the UN.