Daily Evacuation Brief | August 22, 2023
[AfghanDigest] LAST 24 HOURS
- BLAST REPORTED IN KABUL – An explosion occurred in Police District 6 of Kabul (Darul Aman) yesterday afternoon. Initial reports indicate that a motorcycle bomb detonated prematurely and it is thought the intended target was a Taliban checkpoint. There are discrepancies concerning the number and types of casualties that resulted from the attack. Most reports agree that 2 people were killed and several were injured. No group has claimed credit for the attack.
- 8 FEMALE ACTIVISTS WHO WERE DETAINED DURING A PROTEST IN KABUL HAVE BEEN RELEASED – A spokeswoman for the Afghan Women’s Unity and Solidarity Movement announced that the women had been freed after being held for several hours by Taliban security forces. Initial reports indicate that none were harmed but it is not clear if the women were threatened or coerced in any way.
- TURKISH COURT SENTENCES 2 SOLDIERS TO NEARLY 70 YEARS IN PRISON FOR RAPING AFGHAN REFUGEE – The incident took place in January of this year when the 2 Turkish soldiers were escorting a group of 9 Afghan refugees to the border in the Saray District of Van Province where they would be deported. The soldiers separated the unidentified Afghan woman from the group and reputedly raped her. Turkish military authorities arrested the soldiers three days after the incident and the verdict was delivered yesterday after several months of investigation and a long trial.
- TALIBAN MAYOR FROM BAGHLAN WHO WAS ACCUSED OF RAPE AND ARRESTED, RELEASED – A Taliban Mayor (Mullah Nemat Fateh) who was reportedly arrested over charges of raping a woman four weeks ago was released from prison and returned to his office in the Barka District yesterday. A source in Kandahar said that senior officials in Kabul said that a trial would be detrimental to the reputation of the IEA and that an Imam had spoken with the accused prior to his release. It is not clear if the victim and her family were approached by Taliban officials over the matter. The source went on to say that an unnamed senior Taliban leader said that ‘It wouldn’t matter’ as the family would probably kill Fateh in the coming months. Well, there's that
- TAJIKISTAN REMOVES RUSSIAN/SOVIET PLACENAMES, REPLACES WITH TAJIK NAMES – Following in the footsteps of other Central Asian countries, Dushanbe is rewriting its maps and replacing names for geographic locations and cities/towns with Tajik names. The undertaking is important because Tajikistan often demarcates its borders by referencing them in relation to mountains and other geographic features.
CONFLICT TRACKER
- Kabul: A motorcycle bomb was detonated in the Darul Aman neighborhood of Kabul. Eyewitnesses say that 2 people were killed and an unknown number were injured in the blast. The incident took place in the afternoon, and it is thought that a Taliban security checkpoint was the intended target but the device detonated prematurely.
- Kapisa: An NRF strike team reportedly attacked a Taliban security position near the Sayad Bridge in the province. 4 Taliban were reportedly killed and 2 others were wounded in the attack.
- Uruzgan: Forces Of The Unknown Soldier (FOUS) fighters claim to have targeted and killed 2 Taliban security personnel in an operation that took place in the Chora district yesterday evening.
NEXT 24 HOURS: No Threats Reported
Daily Evacuation Brief | August 22, 2023
LAST 24 HOURS
- 11 WORKERS KILLED IN PAKISTAN WHEN IED DETONATED UNDER VEHICLE TRANSPORTING THEM TO WORK – The workers had been employed on a project at an Army base in Waziristan, near the Afghan border. The IED detonated as the transport was passing over it and immediately killed 11 while wounding others. No group has yet claimed credit for the attack but a source in Punjab said it was almost certainly a TTP operation that was implemented from across the border. A drone had been reported in the area an hour prior to the attack so it is possible that some evidence may be available to Pakistani authorities. The source went on to say that Pakistan’s intelligence services were monitoring multiple threats after an air strike in Khost that killed a senior TTP leader.
- SUNNI CLERIC IN IRAN ASKS FOR RETURN OF LAND ALONG AFGHAN BORDER IN BALOCHISTAN – Mawlawi Mohammad Hossein Gergich appealed to the Taliban to return roughly 2000 hectares of land that was surrendered during a partition of the border several years ago. According to the cleric, the land was surrendered inadvertently after Iranian military forces built a border wall that divided the traditionally Baloch-held land, and Afghanistan ‘absorbed’ the farmland. The cleric said that if the Taliban would not make good on water rights to the Province, the least they could do was to return the disputed land. There were multiple claims that the Army failed to take into account the local population’s claims when the border wall was constructed and the cleric hinted at corruption being involved in the speedy implementation of the project. It is not clear if the Taliban intend to take the request seriously.
- ACTIVIST MALALA YOUSAFZAI ADDS HER VOICE TO CHORUS DEMANDING FIFA RECOGNIZE THE AFGHANISTAN WOMEN’S FOOTBALL TEAM – The Nobel laureate visited the women’s team in Melbourne, Australia this past week to discuss the campaign she was working on to gain recognition for the team. For its part, FIFA put out a statement claiming it could not recognize the team outright and that it must first be recognized by the Member Association. FIFA had reached out to Afghanistan’s Football Federation but was told that the group could neither oppose nor support the women’s team and that returning to Afghanistan would violate restrictions on women’s sports put in place by the de facto regime. Supporters of the campaign say the response by FIFA has been a dodge and are urging the organization to amend its rules in this case.
- TALIBAN SECURITY FORCES DISRUPT WOMEN’S PROTEST IN KABUL – Late reporting indicates that Taliban personnel intervened when women attempted to demonstrate in an undisclosed location in Kabul. The Taliban dispersed the protestors and reputedly arrested 8 unidentified females from the group. This information has yet to be verified.
CONFLICT TRACKER:
- Kapisa: NRF forces reportedly launched an early morning rocket attack against a Taliban emplacement in Hesse Kohistan. NRF sources said that 3 Taliban were killed and 2 others were wounded in the brief exchange.
NEXT 24 HOURS: No Threats Reported