Situation in Afghanistan

Taliban seized nine provinces in Afghanistan

by teleSUR

On Tuesday evening, Taliban militants overran Pul-e-Khumri city, capital of Baghlan province, and Faizabad city, capital of Badakhshan province, reported Tolo News TV channel.

With the fall of these cities, the Taliban militants have taken control over nine out of 34 provincial capitals. The said cities have been the scene of heavy clashes in recent weeks as government security forces continued heavy fighting to prevent Taliban from advancing.

Earlier on Wednesday, Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani travelled to Mazar-i-Sharif, capital of northern Balkh province. A security meeting was underway in the city. Taliban militants have presence around the city, trying to capture Mazar-i-Sharif.

Security situation in the war-torn country has deteriorated as Taliban militants continue heavy fighting against government forces and gain ground since the drawdown of U.S. troops from May 1. In Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, thousands of displaced families arrived from northern region, living in open grounds and public parks.

Since the start of the year, nearly 360,000 people have been forcibly displaced by the conflict, and about 5 million people have been displaced since 2012, according to figures provided by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani traveled to the province of Balkh, the only northern province that remains under the control of his security forces, after all other provinces in the region fell into the hands of the insurgents.

He has met with political leaders, including former vice president and warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum, with whom he discussed the possibility of arming civilian militias to fight insurgents and increase support for the troops.

Source
teleSUR
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