The situation is tense in Afghanistan. On Friday, the Taliban claimed they had taken control of 85% of the country’s territory, including two major border posts with Iran and Turkmenistan, in an offensive they are waging against forces of Kabul as the Americans complete their withdrawal.
During a press conference in Moscow, Shahabuddin Delawar, a representative of the Taliban, added that around 250 of the country’s 398 districts were now in the hands of insurgents, but these claims could not be independently confirmed. .
Loss of speed for the Afghan forces
” Yes [les talibans] control such a proportion of the territory, so why do their leaders live in Pakistan and can they not come to Afghanistan?, reacted Fawad Aman, the spokesman of the ministry of Defense. Why are they sending their killed or wounded fighters to Pakistan? The Afghan forces, now deprived of crucial American air support, lost a lot of ground, but assured Friday to have reconquered the first provincial capital taken this week by the insurgents, Qala-i-Naw (north-west).
Hours before the announcements, US President Joe Biden announced in a speech that Washington’s military mission in Afghanistan would end on August 31, nearly 20 years after it began. Mr. Biden further said that it was not “inevitable” that the country falls into Taliban hands, believing that the Afghan authorities have “the capacity” to ensure the continuity of government.
Decisive border posts
The Taliban now hold an arc of territory stretching from the Iranian border in the west to that with China in the northeast. They said on Friday that they had seized a major border post with Turkmenistan, a few hours after announcing the capture of the most important border post with Iran, also located in the Afghan province of Herat (west).
Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said the Islam Qala (with Iran) and Torghundi (with Turkmenistan) border posts were “completely” under the control of the insurgents. According to Interior Ministry spokesman Tareq Arian, Afghan forces are now trying to retake them. Islam Qala is one of the most important border crossings in Afghanistan, it is through it that most of the legal trade between this country and Iran takes place.
” The earliest would be best “
The Taliban “currently control about two-thirds of the border with Tajikistan,” Russian diplomacy spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Friday during a press conference. “We call on the parties involved in the inter-Afghan conflict to show restraint and prevent the spread of tensions beyond the country’s borders,” she added, while a Taliban delegation is in Moscow.
Afghan forces have lost a lot of ground, especially in rural areas, and the Taliban are surrounding major cities like Herat. Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban, however told AFP that the insurgents wanted “a negotiated agreement”, and “did not believe in a monopoly on power”.
The Taliban also welcomed Joe Biden’s announcement. “The sooner the better for the departure of American and foreign troops,” Suhail Shaheen reacted. The country is going through “one of the most complicated stages of the transition,” Afghan President Ashraf Ghani admitted Thursday. “The country can be controlled,” he had however assured, saying he was confident in the ability of his government to manage the crisis. The Taliban have never been so powerful since they were overthrown by the US-led international coalition in late 2001.