‘SOME GROUPS’ IN BAMIYAN PROVINCE RENEWED RESISTANCE, CLAIM TALIBAN OFFICIALS

Taliban officials on Monday alleged that they are facing renewed resistance from “some groups” in Bamiyan province in Central Afghanistan. “There is talk of a second resistance, we ask all the people of Bamiyan to work with us so that the security of Bamiyan is not compromised,” said Allah Mohammad Bakhtyar, head of Planning and Operations of Taliban’s Fifth Brigade of Mansouri Corps as quoted by Tolo News. A number of Bamiyan residents are criticising the persecution of the people by the Talibani forces.

“Everyone who came here, created checkpoints, nobody listened to the governor’s speeches, the people were harassed,” Tolo News cited an elder of a tribe as speaking.

There have also been reports of increased resistance against the Taliban regime in the provinces of Panjshir, Kapisa and Parwan. Taliban officials maintain that they will counter the activities of the resistance. On 7 February, armed clashes broke out between residents and the Taliban in Panjshir province after a Taliban vehicle was hit by a mine explosion.

The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated drastically since the Taliban took control of Kabul last year in mid-August.

A combination of a suspension of foreign aid, the freezing of Afghan government assets and international sanctions on the Taliban have plunged the country, already suffering from high poverty levels, into a full-blown economic crisis.