Taliban seize Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan’s fourth largest metropolis

Mazar-e-Sharif, the fourth-largest metropolis in Afghanistan, fell to the Taliban on Saturday after a multipronged assault launched by insurgents, in accordance with a lawmaker.

Balkh lawmaker Abas Ebrahimzada stated the province’s nationwide military corps surrendered first, which prompted the pro-government militias and different forces to lose morale and quit within the face of the onslaught.According to the lawmaker, all the provincial installations, together with the governor’s workplace, are in Taliban palms.READ: UN chief says Afghanistan spinning uncontrolled, calls on Taliban to right away halt offensiveThe insurgents have captured a lot of northern, western and southern Afghanistan in a breakneck offensive lower than three weeks earlier than the U.S. is ready to withdraw its final troops, elevating fears of a full militant takeover or one other Afghan civil warfare.The Taliban have made main advances in current days, together with capturing Herat and Kandahar, the nation’s second- and third-largest cities. They now management about 20 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces, leaving the Western-backed authorities with a smattering of provinces within the heart and east, in addition to Kabul.On Saturday, the Taliban captured all of Logar province, simply south of the capital, Kabul, and detained native officers, stated Hoda Ahmadi, a lawmaker from the province. She stated the Taliban have reached the Char Asyab district, simply 11 kilometers (7 miles) south of Kabul.Insurgents additionally captured the capital of Paktika, bordering Pakistan, in accordance with Khalid Asad, a lawmaker from the province. He stated combating broke out in Sharana early Saturday however ended after native elders intervened to barter a pullout. He stated the governor and different officers surrendered and had been on their technique to Kabul.READ: The rise, fall and rise of Taliban: An Afghan StoryThe Taliban additionally took management of Maimana, the capital of northern Faryab province, stated Fawzia Raoufi, a lawmaker from the province. Maimana had been below siege for a month, and Taliban fighters entered the town days in the past.Security forces lastly surrendered Saturday, she stated.Sayed Hussan Gerdezi, a lawmaker from the neighbouring Paktia province, stated the Taliban seized most of its native capital, Gardez, however that battles with authorities forces had been nonetheless underway. The Taliban stated they managed the town.Afghan President Ashraf Ghani delivered a televised speech Saturday, his first public look because the current Taliban good points. He vowed not to surrender the “achievements” of the 20 years because the U.S. toppled the Taliban after the 9/11 assaults.The U.S. has continued holding peace talks between the federal government and the Taliban in Qatar this week, and the worldwide group has warned {that a} Taliban authorities led to by drive can be shunned. But the insurgents seem to have little curiosity in making concessions as they rack up victories on the battlefield.”We have started consultations, inside the government with elders and political leaders, representatives of different levels of the community as well as our international allies,” Ghani stated. “Soon the results will be shared with you,” he added, with out elaborating additional.The president had flown to Mazar-e-Sharif on Wednesday to rally the town’s defenses, assembly with a number of militia commanders, together with Abdul Rashid Dostum and Ata Mohammad Noor, who command 1000’s of fighters.They stay allied with the federal government, however throughout earlier rounds of combating in Afghanistan, warlords have been recognized to modify sides for their very own survival. Ismail Khan, a robust former warlord who had tried to defend Herat, was captured by the Taliban when the insurgents seized the western metropolis after two weeks of heavy combating.Tens of 1000’s of Afghans have fled their properties, with many fearing a return to the Taliban’s oppressive rule. The group had beforehand ruled Afghanistan below a harsh model of Islamic legislation by which ladies had been forbidden to work or attend college, and couldn’t go away their properties and not using a male family member accompanying them.Salima Mazari, one of many few feminine district governors within the nation, stated she has by no means even thought of surrendering.”There will be no place for women,” stated Mazari, who governs a district of 36,000 individuals close to Mazar-e-Sharif. “In the provinces controlled by the Taliban, no women exist there anymore, not even in the cities. They are all imprisoned in their homes.”The withdrawal of international troops and the swift collapse of Afghanistan’s personal forces – regardless of a whole lot of billions of {dollars} in U.S. help through the years – has raised fears the Taliban may return to energy or that the nation might be shattered by factional combating, because it was after the Soviet withdrawal in 1989. It’s additionally prompted many American and Afghan veterans of the battle to query whether or not 20 years of blood and treasure was value it.Afghans have been streaming into Kabul’s worldwide airport in current days, determined to fly out, whilst extra American troops have arrived to assist partially evacuate the U.S. Embassy.