the Taliban announced the conquest of Panjshir, the last province in the hands of the resistance

The Taliban assured on Monday that their fighters had succeeded in conquering the northern province of Panjshir, the only one of the 34 regions of Afghanistan that had not fallen into the hands of the insurgents and remained defended by the resistance forces.

“The last stronghold of the mercenary enemy, Panjshir province, was completely won over“, the main spokesperson for the Taliban, Zabihullah Mujahid, said in a statement.

According to the spokesperson, “the province of Panjshir has come under full control of the Islamic Emirate (as the Taliban call themselves) “after days of intense fighting.

“Some of the rebels in the province were defeated and the rest fled, liberate the oppressed people and honorable of Panjshir, ”added Mujahid.

The Panjshir was until now the only one of the 34 Afghan provinces that was not under the control of the Islamists, after the group captured the remaining 33 regions in less than two weeks, culminating with the capture of Kabul on August 15.

“With this victory and this last effort, the rest of the country will be completely out of the war and have a peaceful and prosperous life in an environment of freedom, independence and prosperity“concluded the spokesperson.

The province of Panjshir had resisted defended by the National Resistance Front, formed by local guerrillas and overthrown Afghan government troops who took refuge in the region during their retirement.

The resistance was led by former Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh, the self-proclaimed new President of Afghanistan after former President Ashraf Ghani fled the country during the Kabul takeover, and Ahmad Massoud, Jr. of the late Afghan commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, “the lion of Panjshir”, a legend for having stood up to the Soviets and the Taliban.

The fighting has intensified in recent days after failed dialogue attempts fundamentalists and Ahmad Massoud to find a solution to the conflict.

The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF), as a guerrilla group that is resisting in the Afghan province of Panjshir, is identified, nevertheless denied the fall of the province in the hands of the Taliban, and assured that the fighting continues.

“The claim of the Taliban that they occupied Panjshir is false. NRF forces are present in all strategic positions valley to continue the fight, ”the movement said with a message on Twitter posted shortly after the Taliban claimed to have conquered the territory.

The Panjshir was also the center of resistance against the Islamist group during the previous Taliban regime, between 1996 and 2001, which ended in an American invasion that ended chaotically after nearly two decades of war.

With information from the EFE

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