Crisis in Afghanistan: Panjshir, north of Kabul, has long been known as an anti-Taliban stronghold.
The highlight
- Blinks of resistance have begun to emerge in Panjshir, north of Kabul
- The Taliban said “hundreds of mujahideen” are going to Panjshir to control it
- Thousands of people have gone to Panjshir, a spokesman for the anti-Taliban forces said
Dubai:
The Taliban said on Sunday that “hundreds” of its fighters were heading to the Panjshir Valley, one of the few parts of Afghanistan that was not yet controlled by the group.
Since the Taliban overran Afghanistan, flickers of resistance have begun to appear, with some ex-government troops gathered in the Panjshir, north of Kabul, long known as an anti-Taliban stronghold.
“Hundreds of mujahideen from the Islamic emirate are heading to Panjshir state to control it, after local state officials refused to hand it over peacefully,” the group wrote on its Arab Twitter account.
Since the Taliban took control of the country after a lightning strike in the capital Kabul, thousands of people have headed to Panjshir, according to a spokesman for the anti-Taliban forces.
In Panjshir, Ahmad Massoud, the son of legendary mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud who was assassinated by al-Qaeda two days before the September 11, 2001 attacks, has tried to rally a force of about 9,000 people to counter the attacks. terrorists, spokesman Ali Maisam Nazary told AFP.
Images taken by AFP during training exercises show dozens of recruits performing fitness routines and a handful of armored humus driving the valley northeast of Kabul.
Nazary said the group wants to push for a new system of government, but is willing to fight if necessary.
“Government forces reached Panjshir from several Afghan provinces,” Massoud told Saudi Arabia’s Al-Arabiya station on Sunday.
“The Taliban will not last long if they continue down this path. We are ready to defend Afghanistan and warn of a bloodshed.”