Afghan woman stoned to death for trying to flee forced marriage

A woman has been stoned to death for attempting to escape a forced marriage in rural area of Afghanistan controlled by the Taliban.

The victim, identified only as Rokhshana, was accused of adultery after running away with another man from the western province of Ghor last week, according to Radio Free Europe.

A video allegedly showing the brutal killing has since been released, but has not yet been verified. In the 30-second clip, a group of men are seen throwing stones at a woman who is buried up to her neck in the ground. Amid her screams, the men are heard shouting "God is almighty".

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Her death has sparked a global outcry but police in the region say there is little they can do. "The area is controlled by the Taliban," police chief Mustafa Mohseni told Al Jazeera. "The government will follow-up on the incident once the area comes under our authority."

Provincial governor Seema Joyenda, one of only two women to hold the position in the country, said that although stoning was now illegal in Afghanistan, such attacks were not uncommon. "This is the first incident in this area [this year] but will not be the last," she told the BBC.

Violence against women and the use of illegal Taliban courts remains rife in Afghanistan. Earlier this year, a young woman called Farkhunda was murdered and her body set on fire and thrown into a river by a mob of men who wrongly accused her of burning pages of the Koran.