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A30 world news
Diasabra 26 Juni 2021

Taliban gains drive Afghan government to recruit militias

committed to paying $4 bil-
lion annually until 2024 to He noted the government
support the Afghanistan Na- has promised to pay the mi-
tional Security and Defense litias, even as official security
Forces. Still, even Washing- forces complain salaries are
ton’s official watchdog au- often delayed for months.
diting spending says Afghan He predicted the same cor-
troops are disillusioned and ruption would eat away at the
demoralized with corruption funds meant for militias, and
rife throughout the govern- as a result “local command-
ment. ers and warlords will quickly
turn against him (Ghani) and
As the districts fell, Afghan we will have fiefdoms and
President Ashraf Ghani chaos.”
swept through his Defense
and Interior Ministries, ap- Taliban spokesman Zabihul-
pointing new senior leader- lah Mujahid told The Associ-
ship, including reinstating ated Press on Thursday that
Bismillah Khan as defense the insurgents captured 104
minister. Khan was previous- districts since May 1, includ-
ly removed for corruption, ing at least 29 in recent fight-
and his militias have been ing. That brought the total
criticized for summary kill- area of Taliban control to 165
ings. They were also deeply of Afghanistan’s 471 districts
(AP) — For two days the nic groups, who aided the organized militias can per- involved in the brutal civil nationwide.
fighting was blistering. U.S.-led invasion that drove form better than organized war that led to the Taliban’s
Rockets and heavy ma- the Taliban from power near- security forces,” he said. takeover in 1996. There was no way to imme-
chine gun fire pounded ly 20 years ago and have been diately verify his statements,
Imam Sahib, a key district part of the ruling leadership On Wednesday at Koh Dam- Afghan and international ob- and some areas often change
on Afghanistan’s northern since. an on Kabul’s northern edge, servers fear a similar conflict hands back and forth. Most
border with Tajikistan. dozens of armed villagers in could erupt once more. Dur- analysts tracking the front
The traditional stronghold of one of the first National Mo- ing the 1990’s war, multiple lines say the Taliban control
When the explosions died the Taliban, who are mostly bilization militias gathered at warlords battled for power, or hold sway in roughly half
down and Syed Akram fi- ethnic Pashtuns, has been in a rally. “Death to criminals!” nearly destroying Kabul and the country. Their areas of
nally emerged from his home the country’s south and east. and “Death to Taliban!” they killing at least 50,000 people control are mostly in rural
earlier this week, three of his shouted, waving automat- — mostly civilians — in the areas.
neighbor’s children had been With the recent gains, Taliban ic rifles. Some had rocket process.
killed, and a tank was burn- now control the main border propelled grenade launch- Officials and observers say
ing on a nearby street corner. crossing with Tajikistan, a ers resting casually on their Those warlords returned to many across the country have
Several shops and a petrol main trade route. They also shoulders. power after the Taliban’s fall allegiance to neither side and
station were still smolder- hold the strategic district of and have gained wealth and are deeply disillusioned by
ing. In the streets, the Taliban Doshi, critical because the A handful of uniformed Af- strength since. They are jeal- corruption, which has result-
were in control. one road linking Kabul to ghan National Police officers ous of their domains, deeply ed in ordinary Afghans ben-
northern Afghanistan runs watched. “We need them, we distrustful of each other, and efiting little from the trillions
There were maybe 300 of through it. have no leadership, we have their loyalties to Ghani are of dollars in international
them, he said. That had been no help,” said Moman, one fluid. Ethnic Uzbek warlord assistance pumped into the
plenty to overwhelm the As a result, a worried gov- of the policemen. Rashid Dostum Uzbek, for country the past 20 years.
government troops defend- ernment this week launched example, violently ousted the
ing the town, who had num- what it called National Mo- He criticized the Defense president’s choice for gover- “There is no stability. There
bered fewer than 100. Akram bilization, arming local vol- and Interior Ministries, say- nor of his Uzbek-controlled is no peace,” said Abdul
saw several bodies of soldiers unteers. Observers say the ing they were stuffed with province of Faryab earlier this Khasani, an employee at a bus
in the street, but many had move only resurrects militias overpaid officials while the year. station not far from the Koh
fled the district center. that will be loyal to local com- front-line troops receive little Daman militia gathering.
manders or powerful Kabul- pay. A former adviser to the Af-
In recent days, the Taliban allied warlords, who wrecked ghan government, Torek Far- “In Afghanistan, under the
have made quick gains in the Afghan capital during the “I’m the one standing here hadi, called the national mo- Taliban people are suffering,
Afghanistan’s north, over- inter-factional fighting of the for 24 hours like this with all bilization “a recipe for future and under the government
running multiple districts, 1990s and killed thousands of this equipment to defend my generalized violence.” people are suffering,” he said.
some of them reportedly civilians. country,” he said, indicating
with hardly a fight, even as his weapons and vest jammed
the U.S. and NATO press “The fact that the govern- with ammunition. “But in
forward with their final with- ment has put out the call for the ministries, officials earn
drawal from Afghanistan. By the militias is a clear admis- thousands” of dollars. He
all accounts their departure sion of the failure of the se- spoke on condition he be
will be complete long before curity forces ... most certainly identified only by his first
the Sept. 11 deadline set by an act of desperation,” said name for fear of reprisals.
President Joe Biden when Bill Roggio, senior fellow at
he announced in mid-April the U.S.-based Foundation The other police standing
an end to America’s “forever for Defense of Democracies. nearby joined in with the
war.” Roggio tracks militant groups criticism, others nodding in
and is editor of the founda- agreement. New recruits in
The Taliban gains are signifi- tion’s Long War Journal. the security forces get 12,000
cant because of the transpor- Afghanis a month, about
tation routes they provide “The Afghan military and po- $152, with higher ranks get-
the insurgents. But equally lice have abandoned numer- ting the equivalent of about
significant is that the north is ous outposts, bases, and dis- $380.
the traditional stronghold of trict centers, and it is difficult
Afghanistan’s minority eth- to imagine that these hastily The U.S. and NATO have