The Taliban confirmed yesterday, Friday July 9, 2021, that they now control 85% of Afghanistan’s territory, including two important border posts with Iran and Turkmenistan, in favor of a withdrawal of two months of all-out strikes against Kabul’s forces. After the US military, almost complete.
During a press conference in Moscow, a representative of the Taliban, Shahabuddin Delawar, assured that about 250 of the country’s 398 districts are now in the hands of insurgents, but these claims, disputed by the government, could not be confirmed. an independent source.
Defense ministry spokesman Fawad Aman replied, “If (the Taliban) control such a large part of the region, why do their leaders stay in Pakistan and they can’t come to Afghanistan?” “Why are they sending their killed or injured fighters to Pakistan?”
Despite this, the Taliban now maintains an arc of territory stretching from the Iranian border in the west to China in the northeast.
He said on Friday that he had captured two major border posts, first Islam Kala, which is the most important crossing point with Iran, then Torghundi with Turkmenistan, both located in the Afghan province of Herat (west).
A spokesman for the province’s governor said on Saturday that preparations were underway to try to withdraw the art of Islam, denying that the offensive was already underway as the Interior Ministry indicated a day earlier.
“Islam art has not yet been sent reinforcements. They will be soon,” Jilani Farhad told AFP.
Black through Islam transcends most of the legal trade between Afghanistan and Iran.
“international pressure”
Last month, insurgents captured Shir Khan Bandar, the main border crossing between Afghanistan and Tajikistan, after intense fighting that led up to a thousand Afghan soldiers to take refuge in Tajik territory.
Russian diplomacy spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday that the Taliban “currently control about two-thirds of the border with Tajikistan.”
“We call on parties involved in the intra-Afghan conflict to show restraint and prevent the spread of tensions beyond the country’s borders,” he said, while a Taliban delegation is in Moscow.
Afghan forces, now deprived of vital US air support, have lost much ground, but assured Friday that they had driven the Taliban out of Kala-i-Nawa (North-West), the first provincial The capital is of Badghis. The rebels attacked since the beginning of their attack.
On Friday, Taliban fighters attacked a prison on the outskirts of the large city of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, their former stronghold, but it seems only a few sporadic gunshots were heard outside the city on Saturday morning.
Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin on Friday called for “international pressure” to reach a political settlement to end this conflict, and give the Afghan people the government they want and deserve.
“The whole world can help keep this pressure going,” he added, without citing a single country.
A day earlier, US President Joe Biden announced that the US military mission in Afghanistan would end on August 31, nearly 20 years after it began.
He recognized that it was not “inevitable” that the country fall into the hands of the Taliban, while acknowledging “very unlikely” that a “unified government (…) controls the entire country”.
“the soonest will be the best”
The Afghan army has lost considerable ground, especially in rural areas, and the Taliban are in the vicinity of major cities such as Herat.
Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen told AFP the insurgents wanted “a negotiated settlement” and “did not believe in a monopoly on power.” But talks with the government are at a standstill.
The Taliban also welcomed Joe Biden’s announcement.
Suhail Shaheen replied, “The sooner the better for the departure of American and foreign troops.”
An audio file leaked on social media on Friday shows that Afghan politicians are also nervous. Vice President Amrullah Saleh can be heard threatening to kill an MP after accusing him of encouraging Afghan forces to surrender to the Taliban during an attack in Badghis province.
Anticipating the fragmentation of the pro-government camp, other political actors are also making their point.
Ismail Khan, a notorious warlord whose militia helped US forces topple the Taliban in 2001, vowed to take up arms against the Taliban.
“We will soon go to the front line and with God’s help we will be a game changer,” he told a news conference in Herat.
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