The militants have ramped up their push throughout a lot of Afghanistan, turning their weapons on provincial capitals after taking giant swaths of land within the principally rural countryside. On the identical time, they’ve been waging an assassination marketing campaign focusing on senior authorities officers within the capital, Kabul.
The sweep comes regardless of condemnations by the worldwide neighborhood and warnings from the United Nations {that a} navy victory and takeover by the Taliban wouldn’t be acknowledged. The Taliban have additionally not heeded appeals to return to the negotiating desk and proceed long-stalled peace talks with the Afghan authorities.
Two lawmakers from northern Samangan province, Hayatullah Samangani and Mahboba Rahmat, mentioned that the provincial capital of Aybak fell to the Taliban on Monday afternoon with out resistance. They mentioned authorities officers fled to a different district.
Provincial council member Mohammad Hashim Sarwari mentioned that Taliban fighters earlier had captured three districts of the province earlier than overrunning the capital.
One other provincial lawmaker who’s bodily in Samangan, Ziauddin Zia, mentioned some authorities installations have been nonetheless underneath authorities management as safety forces resisted Taliban fighters.
In accordance with Mohammad Noor Rahmani, the council chief of northern Sar-e Pul province, the Taliban overran the provincial capital after over every week of resistance by the Afghan safety forces, after which the town of Sar-e Pul collapsed. The federal government forces have now utterly withdrawn from the province, he mentioned.
A number of pro-government native militia commanders additionally surrendered to the Taliban with no struggle, permitting the insurgents to realize management of all the province, Rahmani added.
The cities of Aybak and Sar-e Pul be part of three different provincial capitals now absolutely underneath Taliban management: Zaranj, the capital of western Nimroz province, the town of Sheberghan, the capital of northern Zawzjan province, and Taleqan, the capital of one other northern province with the identical identify.
The Taliban are additionally combating on for management of the town of Kunduz, the capital of northern Kunduz province. On Sunday, they planted their flag within the metropolis’s important sq., the place it was seen flying atop a visitors police sales space, a video obtained by The Related Press confirmed.
Kunduz’s seize can be a big achieve for the Taliban and a check of their potential to take and retain territory of their marketing campaign towards the Western-backed authorities. It is among the nation’s bigger cities with a inhabitants of greater than 340,000, and was a key space defended towards Taliban takeovers by Western troops through the years.
After billions of {dollars} spent in aiding, coaching and shoring up Afghan forces, many are at odds tips on how to clarify the stunning Taliban blitz that has threatened, and by now taken, a number of of the nation’s 34 provincial capitals.
Rahmani, the council chief in Sar-e Pul, mentioned the provincial capital had been underneath siege by the militants for weeks, with no reinforcements being despatched to the overstretched Afghan forces. A video circulating on social media on Monday reveals a lot of Taliban fighters, standing in entrance of the Sar-e Pul governor’s workplace and congratulating one another for the victory.
The country-wide Taliban offensive intensified as US and NATO troops started to wrap up their withdrawal from Afghanistan this summer time. With Taliban assaults growing, Afghan safety forces and authorities troops have retaliated with airstrikes aided by the US. The combating has additionally raised rising considerations about civilian casualties.
On Monday, Unicef mentioned it was shocked by the growing variety of casualties amongst kids amid the escalating violence in Afghanistan. Over the previous three days, a minimum of 27 kids have been killed in varied provinces, together with 20 in Kandahar, it mentioned.
“These atrocities are additionally proof of the brutal nature and scale of violence in Afghanistan which preys on already susceptible kids,“ the company mentioned. It didn’t establish the aspect answerable for the killings. Unicef additionally raised the alarm over what it mentioned was elevated recruitment of youngsters by armed teams.
The Taliban have additionally taken most of Lashkar Gah, the capital of southern Helmand province, the place they took 9 of the ten police districts within the metropolis final week. Heavy combating there continues, as do US and Afghan authorities airstrikes, one in all which broken a well being clinic and a highschool.
The protection ministry confirmed airstrikes occurred however mentioned they focused Taliban positions, killing 54 fighters and wounding 23. Its assertion made no point out of a clinic or college being bombed. Deputy provincial council chairman Majid Akhund mentioned the amenities had been underneath Taliban management after they have been struck.
On Saturday, Taliban fighters entered the capital of the northern Jawzjan province after sweeping by way of 9 of 10 districts within the province. And the town of Kandahar, the provincial capital of Kandahar, additionally stays underneath siege.
As they rolled by way of provincial capitals, the Taliban issued an English language assertion on Sunday saying that residents, authorities staff, and safety officers had nothing to concern from them.
Nevertheless, revenge assaults and repressive remedy of ladies have been reported in areas now underneath Taliban management.