[AfghanDigest] LAST 24 HOURS- CIVILIAN ARRESTS — 25 non-combatants have reportedly been arrested in Ghazni and Panjshir provinces over the previous 24 hours.
- 5 people in Ghazni were arrested after being accused of involvement with Hizb-ut-Tahrir. Their current disposition is unknown.
- 20 non-combatants in Dara Abdullah Khel village in Panjshir were arrested after convening a meeting to discuss a recent Taliban proclamation that ordered the departure of all residents of the town. The residents were ordered to leave since they were believed to support the NRF, and the Taliban are attempting to eradicate the NRF’s support among the civilian population. The whereabouts of the 20 prisoners are unknown.
- TALIBAN SOCIAL MEDIA CHIEF INSULTS PAKISTAN — In a recent press briefing, General Mubeen Khan, the director of the Taliban’s social media, delivered several insults aimed at Pakistan and called for closer ties to India in order to expose Pakistan’s hypocrisy. He spoke pointedly of a recent deal that the Taliban signed with Iran that will allow them to use the port of Chabahar as a primary export-import point and claimed that traffic through Pakistan will decline significantly over the next year.
- TRICOLOR FLAG INVESTIGATIONS — Taliban officials are investigating reports that several towns in Nangahar province have raised the tricolor flag of the previous regime in their town squares. Apparently, the Ministry of the Interior is dispatching agents to question the leadership in the towns where this has reputedly occurred.
- IRAN CALLS FOR INCLUSIVE GOV’T — During a recent press conference, the Iranian Foreign Minister commented on reports that Taliban forces summarily executed prisoners of war in Panjshir. The Minister stressed that Iran does not support any military forces in Afghanistan. He emphasized the need for the formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan, but said he believes that this will be impossible while active armed opposition continues in the country.
CONFLICT TRACKER
No reports of fighting have been received over the previous 24 hours. It appears both sides in the conflict are taking time to reconsolidate their forces.
NEXT 24 HOURS
FORMER GOV’T TO REPRESENT AFGHANISTAN AT UN — A representative of the former democratic government, Chargé d'Affaires Naseer Ahmad Faiq, will continue to represent Afghanistan during a major upcoming UN session. The Taliban have been pushing for recognition at the UN for the past year and are furious at the decision, but the former representative has continued to operate in the role with no foreseeable signs of change.
Daily Evacuation Brief | September 20, 2022
[AfghanDigest] LAST 24 HOURS
- HOUSE-TO-HOUSE SEARCH SURGE — Increased house searches have been occurring from Kabul to Kandahar, mostly at night. It is not clear what the Taliban are looking for other than their openly stated purpose of recovering government assets and weapons. Several sources have indicated that men have been arrested during searches in both Kabul and Kandahar, but we have not been supplied with the justification and/or details behind who has been detained. In a potentially related move, the governor of Balkh announced that houses/apartments that have been rented to ISIS militants will be seized.
- AFGHANS FIGHTING IN TAJ-KYRG BORDER CLASHES — The Secretary of the Kyrgyz Security Council recently claimed that Afghan nationals have been fighting on behalf of Tajik security forces during the recent border clashes between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The Secretary called the Afghans members of an international terrorist organization, leading to a diplomatic row. The Afghans are believed to be working for pay and recruited to supplement Tajik forces. Kyrgyz intelligence services claim that the Taliban have identified at least one man as Afghan in a video of the fighting. However, the Taliban have not publicly acknowledged the accusations. A tenuous ceasefire between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan seems to be holding, but international observers estimate that both sides have suffered over 100 killed and a further 200-300 injured, primarily civilians. Security forces of both countries are currently arrayed in force on both sides of the border, and the situation remains tense.
- SHOOTING IN CAPITAL — Gunfire broke out during a meeting at the Kabul Chamber of Mines and Industries on Monday. It is not clear what happened. We have reports of some injuries sustained from the shooting, but no loss of life is thought to have taken place.
CONFLICT TRACKER
Takhar: NRF forces executed a late night hit-and-run attack on the Taliban outpost in Chaman Khusda of Farkhar district. There were an unknown number of casualties in the brief encounter. The Chaman Khusda area was the main operating base for Ahmad Shah Massoud’s forces in the 1990s.
Kandahar: CORRECTION: Yesterday we reported an attack in Kandahar that killed 3 Talibs. We incorrectly attributed the action to the National Liberation Front (NLF). It seems the National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan planned and executed the operation.
NEXT 24 HOURS
A common tactic we have seen from the Resistance forces this year is a hit-and-run attack on a fixed objective, which is then followed by a larger attack. It is likely that the Resistance employs this method in order to:
- Probe the Taliban’s defenses
- Gauge how long any potential relief forces take to arrive and where they come from
- Identify potential ambush points along the road networks that reinforcements use
These tactics have been used successfully in Badakhshan, Balkh, Panjshir, Baghlan, and Takhar. With this in mind, we may witness a larger attack on the Chaman Khusda base in Takhar province soon. |