The chairman of the United General Staff of the US Armed Forces, General Mark Milley, warns of a civil war in Afghanistan: “I don’t know whether the Taliban will be able to consolidate their power and build a government,” Milley said in an interview with the TV channel Fox News. This could lead to a reconstitution of the terror network Al-Qaeda or a strengthening of the extremist militia Islamic State (IS) in the next three years.
According to Milley, there are also “countless other militant groups” in Afghanistan. For example, there is currently fierce fighting in the Panjshir Valley between the Taliban and the “National Resistance Front of Afghanistan” (NRFA), in which forces have come together under the Afghan militia leader Ahmad Massoud. Both sides claim to have the upper hand there.
Tajik stronghold
The Panjshir Valley northeast of the capital Kabul is a Tajik stronghold in the multi-ethnic state. Ahmad Massoud is the son of one of the most important leaders in the war against Soviet troops in the 1980s, who were unable to take control of the valley. During the first Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001, Massoud’s father also managed to repel attacks by the Islamists.
There is also resistance to the Taliban rule elsewhere: clashes broke out during a demonstration for women’s rights in Kabul. At least one woman was injured, local journalists reported on Saturday.
According to videos from local TV stations and activists, the demonstration resulted in chaotic scenes. Around two dozen women had initially demonstrated peacefully near the presidential palace, as can be seen in pictures that were shared on social media. They held signs in their hands that read, for example: “We are not the women of 20 years ago” or “Equality – Justice – Democracy!”.
Internet videos show how the women are surrounded by 50 or more Taliban security forces and fight screaming duels with radical Islamists. A Taliban commander asks over a loudspeaker “… wait, what’s the problem, what do you want, there is no problem, girls, okay?”, While a young woman’s voice can be heard in the background asking: “Why is beating you us? “
The videos and information could not initially be verified by independent bodies.
