On 07th August 1997, Taliban forces entered the city of Mazar-e-Sharif in Balkh province after a bloody conflict. During the first few days, they arrested and shot hundreds of civilians, mostly from the Hazara people. In the first three days, the Taliban forces announced the general massacre of the Shiite people of the city. Witnesses claim that the massacre was so extensive that corpses were lying on the streets and for several days, carts were moving corpses in unknown areas.