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Hours after the Taliban captured Ghazni, they now control the third largest city in Afghanistan and the strategic capital Herat in the western part of the country, and there has been “fierce fighting” between armed fighters in Kandahar and government forces.
The fall of Herat on Thursday marked the Taliban’s biggest gain so far. As part of a week-long blitzkrieg, they occupied 11 of Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals, making the capital Kabul increasingly isolated.
Just a few weeks before the U.S.-led foreign army completed its withdrawal 20 years later, it further squeezed the country’s embattled government.
Witnesses in Herat said that under the control of the Taliban, sporadic gunfire was heard in a government building, while the rest of the city fell silent.
Afghan Congressman Semin Barekzai admitted that the city had fallen, saying that some officials there had fled. Witnesses described seeing Taliban fighters who were once held in Herat prison now moving freely on the street.
At the same time, the occupation of Ghazni cut off an important highway connecting the Afghan capital with the southern provinces of the country, which also found themselves under attack, about 20 years after the invasion and overthrow of the Taliban government by the US and NATO forces Part of the push.
Although Kabul itself has not been directly threatened, losses and fighting in other places have further strengthened the control of the re-emerged Taliban. It is estimated that they now control more than two-thirds of the country and continue to control other provinces. Government forces put pressure on it. capital.
diplomatic
At the same time, the Taliban and Afghan negotiators met in Doha, the capital of Qatar, on the third day, but no agreement was reached. Although the United States has worked hard to reach a political settlement between the two parties, the peace talks have so far remained stagnant.
The Taliban military offensive that began in May has displaced tens of thousands of people. People are worried about the return of the Taliban. Its six-year rule is characterized by atrocities against ethnic minorities and lack of women’s rights.
During the fighting, the Afghan security forces and the Western-backed Kabul government did not respond to repeated questions from reporters. Instead, they released a video bulletin that played down the progress of the Taliban.
On Thursday, a senior government source told Al Jazeera that the Afghan government has made Power sharing proposal In exchange for the Taliban to stop the escalating violence in the country.
Sources told Al Jazeera that the proposal was indirectly submitted to the Taliban through Qatar, which is the host country for the Taliban’s political office and ongoing peace talks in Afghanistan.
However, the Kabul Presidential Palace did not confirm the development.
Fighting in Kandahar
Earlier on Thursday, the Taliban occupied Ghazni, 130 kilometers (80 miles) southwest of Kabul, along the Kabul-Kandahar highway, which could complicate the supply and operations of government forces and squeeze the capital from the south .
In southern Afghanistan, in the heart of the Taliban, fierce fighting continues in Lashkar Gah, where the besieged government forces hope to defend the capital of Helmand Province.
Officials said that in neighboring Kandahar, the Taliban attacked a prison in the capital and released the prisoners inside on Wednesday night.
On Thursday, Kandahar Governor’s Spokesperson Bashir Ahmadi admitted that the Taliban had entered the capital, also known as Kandahar, but said that the Afghan army was working hard to repel them.
Even if diplomats meet in Doha on Thursday, the success of the Taliban offensive calls for question whether they will rejoin the long-stale peace talks, aimed at pushing Afghanistan towards a government that includes the current Afghan government and Taliban members.
Instead, the organization may come to power by force — or the country may split into factional struggles, as it did after the Soviet Union withdrew in 1989.
Call for the UN Security Council to discuss
The United States, which signed an agreement with the Taliban on February 29, 2020, said it would not recognize any government that came to power by force.
The government’s High Commission for National Reconciliation called for the resumption of peace talks, saying it had submitted a plan to Qatar, but did not elaborate.
With the deteriorating security situation, the chief negotiator of the Afghan government Abdullah Abdullah (Abdullah Abdullah) Thursday call “Special and immediate meetings” of the UN Security Council to discuss developments in Afghanistan.
The Pentagon said on Thursday that it would send Approximately 3,000 U.S. troops were temporarily deployed to Afghanistan to help ensure the downsizing of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that the first deployment will take place in the next 24 and 48 hours.
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