[JURIST] Former Afghan mujahideen [Wikipedia backgrounder] Abdul Rabb Rasoul Sayyaf [Wikipedia profile] said Wednesday that he supported an inquiry into abuses committed by fighters during the civil war in Afghanistan [JURIST news archive] in the 1990s, but he rejected calls to bar those implicated from parliamentary elections. Sayyaf, a member of the Ittihad-i-Islami faction, has been accused of war crimes during that time in a Human Rights Watch report [text], but he denied the allegations and said he had a right to participate in Sunday's elections. Some groups have called for former warlords accused of abuses to stand down in the election, but thus far, only 45 lesser-known candidates have been blocked. Afghan President Hamid Karzai [Wikipedia profile] has defended allowing many of the accused to run for office, arguing that it would ease tensions within the country. Reuters has more.