Taliban seize sixth provincial capital and move closer to control of northern Afghanistan

The Taliban seized on Monday Aibak, the sixth provincial capital of Afghanistan to fall into their hands in a large offensive that led to the seizure of strategic Kunduz. and that the army seems unable to counter.

“The Taliban have captured the city of Aibak and have complete control over it”, declared at AFP Sefatullah samangani, deputy governor of the province of Samangan (north), of which Aibak is the capital.

According to this source, the governor accepted a petition from city notables to withdraw their forces and prevent residents from being affected by the fighting.

One The Taliban spokesman confirmed the capture of the city.

Con Aibak, Insurgents already control five provincial capitals in northern AfghanistanAmong them Kunduz, a strategic point between Kabul and Tajikistan which was taken Sunday after weeks of siege.

They also took Zaranj, capital of the province of Nimroz, in the southwest.

On Monday, insurgents claimed to have advanced towards Mazar-i-Sharif, the largest city in the north and key to government control in the region, and to have penetrated inside, a fact denied by the authorities and residents contacted by AFP.

The local chef Atta Mohammad Noor advocated the fight to the end, promising to resist “to the last drop of blood”.

Sunday had fallen Kunduz, the second city in the north, with 300,000 inhabitants, which it has already been conquered in 2015 and 2016 by the insurgents.

Hours later, government forces lost Sar-e-Pul y Taloqan, capitals of the provinces near Kunduz.

The Taliban control all the key buildings in the city, a correspondent of the AFP and Kunduz.

“The situation is not good and we have fled for our lives”said to AFP Rahmatullah, 28 years old.

The capture of Kunduz has been the Taliban’s main military success since the start of the offensive they launched in May after the withdrawal of international troops., which must be completed by August 31.

Nervous axis

At the end of June, the Taliban conquered the border post of Shir Khan Bandar, in southern Tajikistan, the nerve center of economic relations with Central Asia.

The Ministry of Defense assured that government troops attempt to regain control of key areas of Kunduz. “The commandos have launched a cleanup operation,” said a ministry source.

On Saturday, the Taliban took control of Sibargan, further north of Sar-e-Pul, the stronghold of the famous warlord Abdul Rashid Dostom.

Mirwais Stanikzai, a spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, assured that reinforcements had been sent to Sar-e-Pul and Sibargan.

“The cities that the Taliban want to take will soon be their cemeteries”added.

Advance speed

The inability of the Kabul authorities to maintain control in the north of the country could be fatal to the government’s chances of survival.

Northern Afghanistan has always been seen as a place of opposition to the Taliban. It was there that they encountered the greatest resistance when they came to power in the 1990s.

The Taliban ruled the country between 1996 and 2001, applying their ultra-rigorous version of Islamic law, before being ousted by the international coalition led by the United States.

On Friday Ithe insurgents took control of the city of Zaranj, the capital of the province of Nimroz (south), on the border with Iran.

Kandahar (south) and Herat (west), the second and third largest Afghan cities, have been the target of their attacks for several days, like Lashkar Gah (south), the capital of Helmand province, one of the insurgent strongholds.

The speed of the Taliban’s advance surprised observers and the Afghan security forces themselves, despite the help they received from the US military.

US steps up aerial bombardmentrecognized Commander Nicole Ferrara, spokesperson for the US Army Central Command.

The fighting and the bombardments have forced hundreds of thousands of Afghans to flee their homes.

(With information from AFP)

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