Frothing at the mouth and tearing at each other with their teeth, this is the horrifying sight of camels being forced to fight for sport in Afghanistan.
The sport of camel-fighting is popular in the north of the war-torn country - right up there with dog-fighting and cock-fighting.
These pictures were taken today in Mazar-i-Sharif, the provincial capital of the Balkh province north of Kabul.
They show a crowd of male onlookers watching two camels tear one another apart before one is announced as the winner.
An announcer commentates from a loudspeaker.
The pictures come close on the heels of shocking pictures taken in the Philippines recently which showed horses being forced into similar fights.
Mazar-i-Sharif is the same city where an Afghan journalist was recently sentenced to death for passing around a piece taken from a website questioning why Muslim women cannot practise polygamy like their husbands do. He was found guilty of insulting Islam.
The sport of camel-fighting is popular in the north of the war-torn country - right up there with dog-fighting and cock-fighting.
One camel has been felled and is stamped on by the other
The camels tear at one another with their teeth
These pictures were taken today in Mazar-i-Sharif, the provincial capital of the Balkh province north of Kabul.
They show a crowd of male onlookers watching two camels tear one another apart before one is announced as the winner.
An announcer commentates from a loudspeaker.
The pictures come close on the heels of shocking pictures taken in the Philippines recently which showed horses being forced into similar fights.
A boy sits triumphantly on the winning camel as the fight is called
Fight club: Goaded into a frenzy by a mare who is 'in season' and chained nearby for up to six hours, stallions battle for 'sport' in the Philippines
Mazar-i-Sharif is the same city where an Afghan journalist was recently sentenced to death for passing around a piece taken from a website questioning why Muslim women cannot practise polygamy like their husbands do. He was found guilty of insulting Islam.