The Taliban seized three extra Afghan provincial capitals and an area military headquarters Wednesday to finish a blitz throughout the nation’s northeast, giving them management of two-thirds of the nation because the US and NATO finalize their withdrawal after many years of warfare.
The fall of the capitals of Badakhshan and Baghlan provinces to the northeast in addition to Farah province to the west put growing strain on the nation’s central authorities to stem the tide of the advance, even because it has misplaced a serious base in Kunduz.Afghan President Ashraf Ghani rushed to Balkh province, already surrounded by Taliban-held territory, to hunt assist in pushing again the insurgents from warlords linked to allegations of atrocities and corruption. He additionally changed his military chief of employees.While the capital of Kabul itself has not been straight threatened within the advance, the beautiful velocity of the offensive raises questions of how lengthy the Afghan authorities can keep management of the slivers of the nation it has left. The authorities could ultimately be compelled to drag again to defend the capital and just some different cities.“I think what I would say to President Ghani is if you remain spread out everywhere, the Taliban will be able to continue to apply their current approach with success,” warned Ben Barry, the senior fellow for land warfare on the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “You’ve got to do a bit more than stopping the Taliban. You’ve got to show you can push them back.”The success of the Taliban offensive additionally calls into query whether or not they’d ever rejoin long-stalled peace talks in Qatar aimed toward transferring Afghanistan towards an inclusive interim administration because the West hoped. Instead, the Taliban might come to energy by pressure — or the nation might splinter into factional preventing prefer it did after the Soviet withdrawal in 1989.The a number of fronts of the battle have stretched the federal government’s particular operations forces — whereas common troops have typically fled the battlefield — and the violence has pushed 1000’s of civilians to hunt security within the capital.The US army, which plans to finish its withdrawal by the tip of the month, has carried out some airstrikes however largely has averted involving itself within the floor marketing campaign.Humayoon Shahidzada, a lawmaker from the western province of Farah, confirmed Wednesday to The Associated Press his province’s capital of the identical identify fell.Taliban fighters dragged the shoeless, bloody corpse of 1 Afghan safety pressure member by means of the road, shouting: “God is great!” Taliban fighters carrying M-16 rifles and driving Humvees and Ford pickup vehicles donated by the Americans rolled by means of the streets of the capital.“The situation is under control in the city, our mujahedeen are patrolling in the city,” one Taliban fighter who did not give his name said, referring to his fellow insurgents as “holy warriors.”The crackle of computerized weapon fireplace continued all through the day in Farah.Hujatullah Kheradmand, a lawmaker from Badakhshan, mentioned the Taliban had seized his province’s capital, Faizabad. An Afghan official, who spoke on situation of anonymity to talk about an unacknowledged loss, mentioned Baghlan’s capital, Poli-Khumri, additionally fell.The Afghan authorities and army didn’t reply to repeated requests for remark concerning the losses.The insurgents earlier captured six different provincial capitals within the nation in lower than per week.On Wednesday, the headquarters of the Afghan National Army’s 217th Corps at Kunduz airport fell to the Taliban, in response to Ghulam Rabani Rabani, a provincial council member in Kunduz, and lawmaker Shah Khan Sherzad. The insurgents posted video on-line they mentioned confirmed surrendering troops.The province’s capital, additionally known as Kunduz, was already amongst these seized, and the seize of the bottom now places the nation’s northeast firmly in Taliban palms.It wasn’t instantly clear what gear was left behind for the insurgents, although a Taliban video confirmed them parading in Humvees and pickup vehicles. Another video confirmed fighters on the airport’s tarmac subsequent to an assault helicopter with out rotor blades.In southern Helmand province, the place the Taliban management almost the entire capital of Lashkar Gar, a suicide automotive bomber focused the government-held police headquarters, provincial council head Attaullah Afghan mentioned. The constructing has been below siege for 2 weeks.The speedy fall of broad swaths of the nation to the Taliban raises fears that the brutal ways they used to rule Afghanistan earlier than may even return, together with extreme curbing of girls’s rights. Some civilians who’ve fled Taliban advances have mentioned that the insurgents imposed repressive restrictions on ladies and burned down colleges, and there have been studies of revenge killings.In the face of the speedy deterioration in Afghanistan, Germany and the Netherlands each introduced Wednesday they’d droop deportations to the nation.Speaking to journalists Tuesday, a senior EU official mentioned the insurgents held some 230 districts of the over 400 in Afghanistan. The official described one other 65 in authorities management whereas the remaining had been contested. The official spoke on situation of anonymity to debate the interior figures.