Jamie Dettmer VOA News August 19, 2021 The Taliban has placed security for the Afghan capital, Kabul, in the hands of senior members of the Haqqani Network, which has close ties with foreign jihadist groups including a long-standing association with al-Qaida. Western intelligence officials say the assignment is alarming and undercuts Taliban promises to tread
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty August 19, 2021 Casualties were reported as Afghan demonstrators waving the national flag took to the streets of several cities to mark the country’s Independence Day in the first major display of popular opposition to the Taliban, a day after at least one person was killed when the hard-line Islamist militants
By Golnaz Esfandiari Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty August 18, 2021 Iranian officials are carefully weighing their options after the surprisingly swift Taliban takeover of Afghanistan amid fears of instability, a refugee influx, and extremist groups such as Islamic State (IS) gaining a permanent foothold in its eastern neighbor. Tehran, which has cultivated loose ties with the
Bruce Pannier Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty August 18, 2021 The events that the governments of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan have been increasingly dreading in recent weeks have begun to happen. The Afghan government has fallen to the Taliban and despite the Central Asian governments having had years to contemplate and plan for such an occurrence,
Ayaz Gul VOA News August 18, 2021 ISLAMABAD – Top leaders of Afghanistan’s Tajik community warn if the Taliban fail to deliver on their recent commitment to form an “inclusive” government in Kabul, they will not be able to maintain their hold on power. These former staunch Taliban foes, however, say they are willing to cooperate with
Ariana: An Ariana News journalist, a Pajhwok Afghan News photographer and a reporter for Khorshid TV were allegedly assaulted by Taliban members on Wednesday. The Ariana News reporter, Mahmoud Naimi, and Pajhwok photographer, Babrak Aminzadah, were both allegedly beaten while covering a demonstration in Nangarhar, while the Khorshid TV journalist, Nawid Ahmad Kawesh, was allegedly
Times of India: Taliban fighters have taken Salima Mazari, one of the only three women governors of Afghanistan, into their custody, according to local reports. Mazari is the Hazara district Governor of Chaharkint, Balkh. Mazari, who is known for raising her voice against the Taliban, had said earlier there will be no place for women if the
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty August 18, 2021 Gunshots rang out in Kabul and some militants violently broke up a protest in eastern Afghanistan as foreign powers watch every action of the Taliban to see if it will live up to its promises of having left the group’s brutal human rights record behind. Hundreds boarded planes
As the Taliban completed its rapid takeover of Afghanistan in recent days, they captured the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, 23 years after last seizing it and massacring several thousand of its inhabitants. Two women who survived that massacre spoke to VOA about the family members they lost in the Taliban killing spree and their
By Jonny Tickle RT / August 17, 2021 The capture of Afghanistan by the Taliban is “another American scam against Muslims.” That’s according to Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia’s Chechnya region, who suggested that the terrorist group is controlled by Washington. Speaking on a video posted by one of his sons, Adam, Kadyrov urged everyone