Taliban are on the trail of revenge: Jihadis start hunt for translators as soon as Western troops exit Afghanistan

 Within hours of Western troops leaving, triumphant Taliban fighters began raiding the homes of interpreters left behind in Kabul yesterday.

The terrified former translators hid as armed jihadis bent on revenge went knocking door-to-door.

Despite a promise of amnesty from the Taliban leadership, the insurgents wasted no time in hunting down the ‘traitors’ who helped the British.

One search party was said to have been led by an imam who is now a local Taliban commander. He knew ex-translator Kaleem, a veteran of five years on the front lines with British forces.Taliban fighters (pictured) began raiding the homes of interpreters left behind in Kabul yesterday, within hours of Western troops leaving

Taliban fighters (pictured) began raiding the homes of interpreters left behind in Kabul yesterday, within hours of Western troops leavingFormer interpreters – many strangers to the capital – are moving hiding places regularly. They are purging phones of photos and numbers linking them to Britain.

They fear their biometric details are now with the Taliban after they seized records of thousands of Afghans who worked with foreign forces and the government. When Taliban fighters took control of Kabul some immediately went to the headquarters of the National Directorate of Security and the Ministry of Communications with the apparent aim of securing files of Afghan intelligence officers and their informers.

For Faiz, 31, the knock on the door of the Kabul house where he was staying with his wife and five children sparked panic.

His wife answered the door while he escaped through a window at the back, hiding among rubbish. Faiz, who worked for UK forces over three years, said it is the third house they have moved to since the Taliban arrived in Kabul. He was rejected for relocation as he had been dismissed.

Threat: Fardin, 40,  (pictured) who worked with UK forces for more than 15 years and came to Britain in July with his wife and six children, says his family in Afghanistan has been targeted

Threat: Fardin, 40,  (pictured) who worked with UK forces for more than 15 years and came to Britain in July with his wife and six children, says his family in Afghanistan has been targetedHe told The Art Newspaper that the details and composition of the work - a young man is painted in oils, while three women are sketched in blue crayon and charcoal - are 'very typical' of Le Moine. 

'It is a stereotypical colonial Tahiti scene, whereas Gauguin was looking for more primitive compositions. The poses, dresses and even the European accordion held by the woman show Tahitians 'corrupted' by European customs,' he said.

'The poses, the dress and the man carrying bananas are very typical,' he added.

Tahitians is dated to around 1891 and its first recorded owner was the Galerie Druet in Paris. It was bought by Roger Fry in 1910 on behalf of the Contemporary Art Society and presented to the Tate in 1917. 

Mr Fourmanoir believes that someone coming from France to search for paintings soon after Gauguin's death commissioned Le Moine to make a pastiche, which was then sold to the Galerie Druet.

Doubts about its origins were raised last year by Fabrice Fourmanoir, a French art historian, who believes it to be the work of Charles Alfred Le Moine, an artist who lived in Polynesia in the same period

Doubts about its origins were raised last year by Fabrice Fourmanoir, a French art historian, who believes it to be the work of Charles Alfred Le Moine, an artist who lived in Polynesia in the same period

The Tate dates the painting to around 1891, very soon after Gauguin's arrival in Tahiti. Its curators suggest it is an early study, 'in order to come to terms with his new subject matter'. 

It has not been on public display in London since the 2010 exhibition. However, when that show travelled to the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC the next year, Tahitians was not included.

The painting was also included in a group exhibition of modern and contemporary drawings in 2012-13, shown at Tate Liverpool.  

A Tate spokesman said: 'The work was included by the Wildenstein Institute in the first edition of their Gauguin catalogue raisonne in 1964 and Tate was not contacted prior to the publication of their latest edition.

'We recognise there has been ongoing research into Gauguin's work in recent years, so we will keep the work under review and retain an open mind about any research that might help cast familiar works in a new light.'

MailOnline has contacted Tate for further comment.  

Paul Gauguin: French Post-Impressionist who slept with teenage girls and  sailed to Tahiti to paint Polynesians he branded 'savages'

Paul Gauguin was one of the most influential artists of the 19th Century

Paul Gauguin was one of the most influential artists of the 19th Century

Paul Gauguin was one of the most influential artists of the 19th Century.

He was the son of a French journalist and his wife, herself the daughter of a prominent Peruvian socialist, and grew up in luxury in Peru and France.

Gauguin first came into contact with the Impressionists as a patron and a collector, and became friends with several artists including Camille Pissarro, who became a mentor.

He became a full-time artist after losing his job following the 1882 crash, and moved to Brittany where he founded the School of Pont-Aven.  

Gauguin's bold vision saw him allied with Vincent van Gogh, and moved to Arles to set up a 'School of the South'.

However, it was during Gauguin's stay that Van Gogh cut off part of his own ear and was detained by the authorities because of his mental instability.

Gauguin carried on in France for a few more years before sailing to Tahiti, where he painted the locals.

After another stint in France, he would again return to the Pacific for good, living in Tahiti and then the Marquesas, working in isolation from Western influences.    

Gauguin has split the artworld, with his advocates pointing to his innovative style and impact on culture.

Others point to his legacy of numerous sexual encounters with teenage girls and calling the Polynesian people he painted 'savages'.

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