DAccording to a representative of the province, the Taliban had already occupied the city of Mazar-i-Sharif. The chairman of the local provincial assembly, Afsal Hadid, said that apparently the city had fallen without a fight. Government soldiers have fled to the border with Uzbekistan. In a field camp on the outskirts of the city, the headquarters of the Bundeswehr was used for missions in Afghanistan until June.
Islamists have violently attacked Mazar-e-Sharif for about a week. Time and time again, they tried to penetrate into this economically powerful metropolis with approximately 500,000 inhabitants in several ways. The militia of former Governor Mohammed Atta Nur and former warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum recently built an additional line of defense in the northern part of the city to support the security forces.
Biden defends the trigger
Despite the rapid advancement of Islamic radicals, the Taliban, US President Joe Biden once again defended the withdrawal of US troops from countries in crisis. The President issued a statement on Saturday, saying: “If the Afghan army cannot or does not want to keep its own country, another year or five years of American military presence will not have any impact.” The presence. Biden said: “I am the fourth president to lead the US forces in Afghanistan-two Republicans and two Democrats.” He will not “pass this war on to the fifth president.”
In Mazar-i-Sharif, until recently, the German armed forces established a large field camp at the Marmar camp near the airport. Until the summer, about 1,000 German soldiers were stationed there. At the end of June, after deciding to withdraw from the United States and NATO, the last remaining soldiers took off at night in four military planes. As part of NATO’s “resolute support” mission, the Bundeswehr has recently trained Afghan security forces. There may be other local armed forces in the city. They are afraid that the Taliban will retaliate against them.
Security sources said that Islamists entered the city around 9pm local time. Then they released the prisoner from the city’s central prison. Most of the security forces have withdrawn to the Tschahar Kent district and Camp Marmal near the airport.
The Sabiullah Kakar Provincial Assembly stated that the city is completely under the control of Islamists. The 209th Army, located on the outskirts of the city, also failed due to a “deal” with Islamists. Kakar said that all the achievements of the past 20 years have been in vain. It is said that Mohamed Ata Nur and Abud Rashid Dostum have fled to the city of Hailatan on the border with Uzbekistan and tried to cross the border. Other security forces will try the same method.
The Taliban control 21 of the 34 capital cities
Since the United States and NATO troops began to withdraw in May, the Taliban have made huge territorial gains. They now control 21 of the country’s 34 capital cities. Shortly before the fall of Mazar-i-Sharif, local officials also confirmed a case in Cadiz, the capital of Paktia Province in the southeast of the country. On Saturday, two other small provincial capitals in the east-Asadabad in Kunar and Sharana in Paktika in the southeast-went to the Taliban without fighting.
This week, the country’s third and second largest cities, Herat and Kandahar, fell into the hands of Islamists. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said in a brief televised speech on Saturday that he is aware of the grim situation in the country. To prevent more innocent deaths and defend the achievements of civil society over the past 20 years, there is now a “historical task”.
In doing so, he did not respond to speculation that he could resign to clear the way for a possible political agreement with Islamists. He consults with political leaders and international partners, and hopes to announce the results “as soon as possible.”
Soon after, after meeting with political leaders in Ghani, the Presidential Palace announced that they had agreed to establish an “authoritative” negotiating team to hold peace talks with the Taliban on behalf of the Republic. These activities have been running since September, but no major progress has been made. Observers have repeatedly stated recently that the Doha trial is dead.
Biden talks with the national security team
In view of the dramatic situation in Afghanistan, US President Joe Biden spoke with his national security team. The White House wrote on Twitter on Saturday that it discussed ongoing efforts to “reduce the presence of civilians in Afghanistan” in a video conference. Vice President Kamala Harris also participated in the meeting, which also dealt with the severe earthquake in Haiti. Biden currently lives in Camp David, the President’s country house in Maryland, USA. More details about the video switch are initially unknown.
The U.S. military announced on Thursday that it will deploy about 3,000 soldiers to Kabul Airport as reinforcements to support the layoffs of the U.S. Embassy. You should arrive at the weekend. About 5,000 soldiers are stationed in the Middle East for emergencies. Since the United States and NATO troops began to withdraw in May, the Islamic Taliban has made huge territorial gains, and now it has occupied the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
