8am: Local sources in Badakhshan report the continued detention of individuals close to Juma Khan Fateh, house-to-house searches, and the confiscation of hundreds of weapons and ammunition boxes by Taliban special forces. According to the sources, restrictions on mining activities have simultaneously increased in some districts, and local Taliban members are set to be replaced
Afghanistan International: As Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada appoints a new governor and police chief to contain the unrest, evidence suggests the list of dissatisfied local Taliban figures in Badakhshan is growing. The Taliban leadership’s “monopolistic” policies, the marginalisation of Tajik and Badakhshani figures, and what critics describe as the unchecked looting of gold mines by
Amu: Local sources in Badakhshan told Amu that a civilian was killed in an armed clash between two Taliban officials that they said began over a dispute about fishing. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan International: Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Afghanistan International on Saturday that Juma Khan Fateh, the group’s former Nusay district governor, will be put on trial. Mujahid said further details were not yet available because “the case and charges must first be prepared and then referred to the judicial authorities”. Click here to read more
8am: Mawlawi Mahdi Mujahid was a devoted foot soldier of the Taliban. He was also non-Pashtun and an outsider within the group’s regime. Unlike many others, he was not an unquestioning follower of the Taliban Supreme Leader’s decisions, and in some instances he acted as a rights-seeker, making decisions regarding the territory under his authority
8am: Juma Khan Fateh, a disgruntled Taliban commander who had clashed with non-local fighters of the group in Nusay district of Badakhshan last Tuesday, was transferred to Faizabad today by a Taliban helicopter. Meanwhile, the process of disarming the forces under his command is proceeding intensively. A local source says that Juma Khan’s men have
8am: Local sources say that Juma Khan Fateh has rejected a meeting with Fasihuddin Fitrat, the Taliban’s chief of army staff, and clashes between fighters from the two sides are continuing in Badakhshan. Sources told the Hasht-e Subh Daily on Sunday, August 16, that following the rejection of the meeting, a verbal dispute broke out
Afghanistan International: As fighting intensifies in Nusay district of Badakhshan’s Darwaz area, the Afghanistan Freedom Front says it carried out a “pre-emptive” attack on Taliban positions in Zebak district. The group said on Saturday, 15 August, that its forces targeted Taliban positions on the front lines in Zebak with mortars. Click here to read more
Amu: Fighting between Taliban forces and Juma Khan Fateh, a former Taliban official and their commander, entered a fourth consecutive day in Badakhshan’s Nusay district, local sources told Amu on Friday, as neighboring Tajikistan protested what it said was a deadly spillover of the clashes across its border. Local sources said the fighting continued intermittently
Afghanistan International: Local sources told Afghanistan International that a Taliban military helicopter crashed on Thursday, 13 August, around central Nusay district in Badakhshan. Sources said the helicopter was shot down by fighters loyal to Juma Khan Fateh, a dissident Taliban commander. Some sources said everyone on board was killed. Afghanistan International has not been able