This Taliban Occupied two major cities in Afghanistan, the country’s second and third largest cities after Kabul, and a strategic capital city that further squeezed the troubled government weeks before the end of the US military mission. Afghanistan.
The capture of Kandahar and Herat is the Taliban’s biggest spoils so far. As part of a week-long blitzkrieg, they captured 12 of Afghanistan’s 34 capital cities.
At the same time, the capture of Ghazni cut off an important road linking the Afghan capital Kabul with the country’s southern provinces as part of an insurgency that took place approximately 20 years after the invasion and overthrow of the Taliban government by American and NATO forces.
Although Kabul itself has not been directly threatened, losses and fighting elsewhere have further strengthened the control of the resurrected Taliban, who are estimated to now control more than two-thirds of the country and continue to attack.
With the rapid deterioration of the security situation, the United States plans to send 3,000 soldiers to help evacuate some personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. In addition, the United Kingdom stated that it will deploy about 600 soldiers in the short term to support British nationals leaving the country.
Thousands of Afghans fled their homes for fear that the Taliban would once again impose a brutal and repressive government, almost eliminating women’s rights, and carried out public amputations, stoning and executions. Although the diplomats met throughout the day, peace talks in Qatar are still at a standstill.
The latest US military intelligence assessment indicates that Kabul may face insurgent pressure within 30 days, and if current trends remain unchanged, the Taliban may take complete control of the country within a few months. If the Taliban continue to maintain their momentum, the Afghan government may eventually be forced to retreat in the coming days to defend the capital and several other cities.
The attack represented the alarming collapse of the Afghan army and once again questioned the whereabouts of the more than $830 billion spent by the U.S. Department of Defense on fighting, training these troops, and rebuilding—especially when Taliban fighters ride in U.S.-made Hummers and pickup trucks. M-16 hung on their shoulders.
In the days of fighting, the Afghan security forces and the government did not respond to the questions repeatedly raised by reporters. Instead, they released a video bulletin that played down the progress of the Taliban.
In Herat, Taliban fighters rushed through the Great Mosque in this historic city-which dates back to 500 BC and was the spoils of Alexander the Great-and occupied government buildings. Witnesses said that sporadic gunfire was heard in a government building, while the rest of the city fell silent under the control of the insurgents.
Herat has suffered two weeks of radical attacks, one of which was weakened by the arrival of warlord Ismail Khan and his troops. But on Thursday afternoon, Taliban militants broke through the city’s defenses and later stated that they were under control.
Afghan Congressman Semin Barekzai also admitted that the city had fallen, saying that some officials there had fled. Witnesses described seeing Taliban fighters who had been detained in Herat prison now moving freely in the streets.
It is unclear what happened to Khan, who was earlier described as being attacked by his troops at the government building.
Witnesses said that in Kandahar, the Taliban occupied the governor’s office and other buildings. Witnesses added that the governor and other officials fled the attack and boarded a flight to Kabul. Since the government has not yet admitted its failure, they refused to give their names publicly.
Officials said the Taliban had earlier attacked a prison in Kandahar and released the prisoners inside.
Earlier Thursday, militants raised a white flag with the Islamic Declaration of Faith in the city of Ghazni, just 130 kilometers (80 miles) southwest of Kabul.
Amanullah Kamrani, a member of the Ghazni Provincial Assembly, claimed that the governor and police chief had reached an agreement with the Taliban and fled after surrendering. As part of the deal, Taliban videos and photos claimed that the governor’s convoy passed freely by the insurgents.
Afghan Interior Ministry spokesperson Mirwes Stanekzai later stated that the governor and his deputy were arrested on suspicion of dealings. Officials could not be immediately contacted for comment.
Stanekzai also admitted in the video message that parts of Ganzi had fallen, but he insisted that government security forces “do exist” in the city.
The disappearance of Ghazni along the Kabul-Kandahar highway may complicate the supply and operations of government forces and squeeze the capital from the south.
In the one-week blitzkrieg of the Taliban, militants have occupied nine other provincial capitals across the country. Many people in the northeast corner of the country are also putting pressure on Kabul from that direction.
In southern Afghanistan, in the heart of the Taliban, fierce fighting in Lashkar Gah continues, and the besieged government forces hope to defend the capital of Helmand province there.
Helmand Provincial Assemblyman Nasima Nyazi criticized the continued airstrikes in the area, saying that civilians may have been injured and killed.
“The Taliban used private houses to protect themselves, and the government carried out air strikes regardless of civilians,” she said.
According to the Australian security company The Cavell, due to the limited power and chaos of the Afghan Air Force, aviation tracking data shows that U.S. Air Force B-52 bombers, F-15 fighter jets, drones and other aircraft are participating in battles across the country. group.
U.S. Air Force Major Nicole Ferrara, a spokesperson for the Central Command, admitted that the U.S. military “has conducted several air strikes in recent days to protect our Afghan partners.” However, she refused to provide any details about the attack and also refused to discuss Afghanistan’s complaints about civilian casualties.
Entering 6 months of 2021, the number of civilian deaths in Afghanistan hit a record high
Late Thursday night, an Afghan official, who asked not to be named, said while discussing developments that the Taliban also occupied most of the western part of Badghis Province-but did not occupy the provincial army and intelligence services. A tweet from the Taliban claimed that the rebels had occupied the provincial governor, police headquarters and all other government offices.
Even if diplomats meet in Doha, Qatar on Thursday, the success of the Taliban offensive calls for question whether they will rejoin the long-stale peace talks, aimed at pushing Afghanistan towards a government that includes current members of the Afghan government and Taliban. Instead, the organization can come to power by force — or the country may split into factional struggles as it did after the Soviet withdrawal in 1989.
© 2021 Canadian Press
