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Kabul, Afghanistan -Late Sunday afternoon, the Taliban raised their national flag from the main roundabout in the northern city of Kunduz.
This marks the third time in seven years that the armed group has successfully seized control of the government aspiring to become a model for all 34 provinces in Afghanistan.
Kunduz is the fifth northern provincial capital to fall into the hands of the Taliban in less than a week, and Sixth overall domestic. As the U.S. and NATO forces completed their final withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Taliban’s offensive intensified and these cities fell.
Residents who spoke to Al Jazeera said that the Taliban’s offensive against the capital of the same name began on Saturday morning, and by the afternoon of the next day, the organization formally seized control of Afghanistan’s fifth largest city.
Farhad, a shopkeeper who only revealed his name, said that the market in the city was a mess.
Hundreds of storefronts were destroyed in the battle, leaving thousands of people without income until they were rebuilt.
However, as the fighting in the city continues, this financial uncertainty may last for days or even weeks as the Afghan economy has been hit hard by the growing insecurity and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Taliban flags on the main square of Kunduz City [Abdullah Sahil/AP Photo]A video released by the Ministry of Defense on Saturday showed commandos patrolling and opening fire in an area around a closed market in the city.
When talking to Al Jazeera, residents said that the city’s main market caught fire in a government airstrike on a nearby Taliban hideout on Sunday.
Farhad’s electronics store is close to the city’s main roundabout, and it was also destroyed in the fire.
He said that the airstrikes reduced hundreds of shops to ashes in a matter of minutes.
“There are air strikes and conflicts on the ground, who can extinguish the fire?” Farhad said.
As the plane continued to fly across the skies of Kunduz, residents remained locked in their homes, afraid of venturing out and risking being caught in the crossfire.
Provincial Police Chief Zabardarst Safi said that security forces are continuing their operations and trying to clear the Taliban cities, but armed groups have created additional challenges by entering civilian houses.
“The Taliban are in a residential area, so we must be extra careful not to harm civilians.”
He said caution might delay the government’s efforts to regain control of the city.
Other residents stated that despite their claims to order, the Taliban immediately began firing on civilians and security forces.
The Kunduz Regional Hospital stated that as of Monday, they had treated at least 97 wounded people.
Another 14 patients were declared dead upon arrival. All are civilians.
However, residents said that the actual number of casualties may be much higher because hundreds of residents are still trapped in their houses, afraid of taking risks.
Civilian casualties
Residents of Kunduz told Al Jazeera by phone that in recent days, government forces’ reliance on air strikes and the Taliban’s use of mortars have led to an increase in civilian casualties.
A video claiming to show that a mortar fired by the Taliban hit a residential property and killed a young man was circulating on the Internet and was used as evidence of an indiscriminate attack on civilian areas.
Those who can escape, often rush the deceased to a nearby cemetery for burial, instead of risking a 15-minute journey to the city’s main hospital, which is located on the road to the Intelligence Bureau and the Governor’s compound. Which has fallen into the hands of the Taliban.
Although the Afghan Ministry of Defense released a video of an air raid on the so-called Taliban hideout on the outskirts of the city, residents said that the Afghan National Security Forces suffered heavy casualties in the past 72 hours.
Farzad, another resident of Kunduz, said that when the Taliban stormed into the compound on Sunday morning, his brother, an injured policeman, was at the provincial police headquarters.
Farzad said his brother was shot dead at the scene and added that the Taliban started opening fire when they entered the compound, resulting in the death and injury of dozens of police officers.
Even those who managed to escape are still afraid.
Sediqa Sherzai runs a local radio and television station in the city and fled to Kabul 12 days ago—just like she did when the Taliban first occupied Kunduz in 2015.
In recent weeks, Sherzai and her family have received multiple warnings from the Taliban, asking them to stop broadcasting. As this group of people got closer and closer to the city, her family became more and more frightened.
Because her office was burned down by the Taliban six years ago, the Taliban took the threat very seriously and the family moved to Kabul in late July.
“I am personally threatened. I can tell you that the Taliban do not want women to work in the media, or even to go out,” Sherzai said.
But Sherzai said she is not alone because dozens of other female activists and professionals have fled the province in recent weeks.
‘No one hears our voice’
Fawzia Yaftali, vice chairman of the Kunduz Provincial Assembly, said that the recent takeover by the Taliban is another example of the government neglecting their province.
Over the past six years, the province has had a high crime rate, and the drug trade has continued to grow.
Residents said that local security and government officials, as well as mafia who rely on the Taliban for protection along the trafficking route, were involved in the transaction.
In addition, Kunduz has been suffering from air and drone attacks for many years, as well as allegations of government-backed strongman abuse.
Residents like Yaftali say all this has weakened the government and security institutions in their already fragile provinces.
Yaftali said that on Friday, she and other local leaders sought help from the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of the Interior, but their calls were unanswered.
“We notified senior officials in Kabul to take certain measures against Kunduz because the Taliban were planning a major attack on the city, but they did not take our warning seriously,” Yaftali said.
People check damaged shops after the Taliban and Afghan security forces fight in Kunduz City [Abdullah Sahil/AP Photo]Yaftali and other Kunduz residents said that eight other areas in the province have been controlled by the Taliban for several months.
Despite the fact that in 2015, President Ashraf Ghani had hoped to use Kunduz as an example of his desire to implement comprehensive security reforms for all provinces in the country.
Residents said that not only did Kunduz fail to ensure the safety of the province, it became increasingly unsafe every year.
“No one can hear our voice,” said Fahad, the owner, “except God.”
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