The Taliban have moved closer to retaking full control of Afghanistan, with the capital Kabul now the only major city left in government hands.
On Sunday the militants took control of Jalalabad, a key eastern city, without a fight.
It means they now control all roads to neighbouring Pakistan.
It’s been years since Haji and his wife have had a good night’s sleep.
“All night, my wife wakes up,” says Haji. “She’s scared. If [she hears] somebody is coming, she calls me, ‘Haji, someone is coming!'”
His wife says the first thing she does is hide the children.
The centers of Logar, Paktika, Kunar and Paktia provinces and 10 districts fell to the Taliban in the last 24 hours, according to sources as the group’s advances continue.
Sources said the Taliban has released all prisoners in these provinces while local officials have relocated to the army bases in the four provincial capitals.
The situation in Afghanistan—and with it the Afghanistan-Pakistan relationship—is likely to worsen in the short term. The prospect of a prolonged civil war or full Taliban takeover now looms large as hopes of a negotiated settlement recede. Whatever the outcome, the countries’ bilateral relationship will continue to be shaped by tensions that have characterized it for more than a century. This report examines these sources of tension and identifies potential openings for engagement that could, over time, become sources of stability and growth.
No matter where the conflict goes from here, Afghans will bear enormous costs as stability looks to be a distant prospect.
The Afghan government has had its most difficult week fighting the Taliban since the insurgency began. As of this writing, 12 provincial capitals have fallen since last Friday, marking the first time the Taliban have controlled a city since they were ousted in 2001. By some estimates the Taliban control two-thirds of the country. While many experts predicted that the rapid and unconditional withdrawal of U.S. troops would increase Taliban control, few saw it happening this fast. A Taliban takeover of Kabul — once thought to be years away if at all — is now conceivable within months, or even a matter of weeks.
Introduction
As the withdrawal of U.S. and coalition troops from Afghanistan is already in its final stages as per the February 29, 2020 agreement[1] between the United States and the Afghan Taliban, signed in the Qatari capital of Doha, the Islamic State (ISIS) has begun to carry out increasingly diverse attacks via its Afghan affiliate, the Islamic State Khurasan Province (ISKP), in an attempt to expand its influence in the country.
On August 2, 2021, one Police constable, identified as Dilawar Khan, was killed when unidentified gunmen opened fire on a Police team guarding polio workers administering vaccinations near the Atal Sharif area of Kalachi Tehsil (revenue unit) in the Dera Ismail Khan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The gunmen managed to escape.
Relations between Brussels and Ankara – already strained by earlier crises over refugees – face an even bigger test as the number of Afghans fleeing westwards rapidly increases.
Thousands of refugees, mostly from Afghanistan and some other Asian countries, passing the Turkish-Iranian border, make regular new headlines in Turkey.
L’aggravation de la situation sécuritaire est connue de tous et inquiète tout le monde. Sauf le Commissariat aux Réfugiés, écrit l’avocate Selma Benkhelifa.
Toute la presse parle de l’offensive des Talibans, ils avancent et les villes afghanes tombent une par une entre leurs mains. Ils sont aux portes de Kaboul.
Temeri privind o nouă criză a refugiaților în Europa, după ce talibanii au cucerit mai multe orașe din Afganistan
Talibanii au cucerit joi oraşul Ghazni, la 150 km sud-vest de Kabul, a zecea capitală de provincie care cade în mâinile lor în decurs de o săptămână, scrie BBC. Luptele sângeroase din țară au provocat peste o mie de morți printre civili doar în ultima lună, în vreme ce numeroși localnici s-au văzut nevoiți să își părăsească locuințele. Unii oficiali din Europa se tem deja că eventuala instalare la putere a talibanilor ar putea genera un nou val de refugiați.