Thick clouds of smoke rose over the city in the northwestern province of Badghis. After the Taliban’s offensive on Qala-e-Naw, the government sent hundreds of soldiers to the region by helicopter. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the withdrawal of most of the bitter soldiers from Afghanistan.
The Afghan Ministry of Defense announced on Twitter that night that it had sent hundreds of soldiers into the city to start a “large-scale operation”. On Wednesday the Taliban entered the city with about 75,000 inhabitants, on Thursday they were still in the city, according to residents. “You can see them riding their motorbikes,” said Aziz Tavakoli, a resident of the city. “The shops are closed, there is hardly anyone on the street.” Almost half of the residents have fled. Helicopters and planes bombed Taliban targets all night.
Muddled situation
The situation has “not really changed” since Wednesday, said Zia Gul Habibi, representative of the Badghis provincial council. All districts of the city are under the control of the Islamists. There are “sporadic” fighting in the city and some Afghan security forces have joined the Taliban.
Badghis governor Hamssamuddin Shams confirmed that the militia had “resumed attacks in several parts of the city”. However, the enemy is “pushed back and flees”. On Thursday, according to the head of Badghis health authorities, Abdul Latif Rostaee, ten injured civilians, including women and children, were taken to the city’s hospital.
Islamists plunder and destroy
The Islamists reportedly briefly captured several police stations and intelligence service bases on Wednesday, but were later pushed back. In addition, they would have opened the gates of the city jail and released hundreds of prisoners. Most were reportedly later captured.
The fighting also appears to have spread to the neighboring province of Herat, where the authorities admitted that they had lost two districts to the Islamists during the night. Human Rights Watch reported that the Taliban had evicted people from their homes and that some homes had been looted or burned. The Taliban have already taken control of a number of areas in Afghanistan, but so far no provincial capital.
After Western soldiers withdrew, the Taliban gained territories
The storm on Qala-e-Naw began on Wednesday, just hours after the US Army announced that the withdrawal from Afghanistan was 90 percent complete. Most of the British troops have also left the country in the meantime. “I will not disclose the timing of our withdrawal,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in parliament on Thursday. But most of the 750 British soldiers have already been withdrawn. Great Britain remains committed to Afghanistan. He is also aware of the dangers that this deduction represents. US President Joe Biden also wanted to comment on the US troop withdrawal on Thursday.
Since the US and NATO troops began to withdraw in May, the fighting between government forces and the Taliban has intensified massively. Observers fear that the militia could regain power in the country once the international armed forces are completely withdrawn. The Islamists are on the rise in many parts of the country. The chief of the British armed forces, Nick Carter, warned on Thursday of a full-blown civil war in Afghanistan as soon as all foreign troops have left the country. It could slip into a situation similar to that of the 1990s. Then the radical Islamic Taliban would control parts of the country again, if not all of Afghanistan, said Carter.
