 [ToloNews] As festivities continue and intensify, hundreds more have taken up arms against the Taliban
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
in support of the government forces, this time in Herat
...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns...
, Patkia, Ghor and Kunduz provinces.
Continued from Page 1
Those who took up arms said they will not allow their villages to fall to the Taliban who they claim would damage the country’s infrastructure.
So far, hundreds of people have taken up arms against the Taliban in Takhar, Balkh, Badghis, Baghlan, Nangarhar
The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country..
, Laghman
...Afghan province with a population of about 445,600, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a rural society. During the invasions of Alexander the Great, the area was known as Lampaka, wich is apparently Olde Macedonian for Laghman .The city of Mihtarlam serves as the bucolic capital of the province. The population is half Pashtun, the remainder Tadjik and Pashai. It had a repution for great wealth until it was conquered in the tenth century by Abu Mansur Sabuktigin. He conquered it and set fire to the places in its vicinity which were inhabited by infidels, and demolishing the idol-temples, he established Islam in them, He marched and captured other cities and killed the polluted wretches, destroying the idolatrous and gratifying the Musulmans. After wounding and killing beyond all measure, his hands and those of his friends became cold in counting the value of the plundered property. After that it was mostly notable for the production of dirt, rocks, and holy men...
, Jawzjan, Samangan and Kapisa provinces.
People in over 10 districts have taken up arms against the Taliban in just a week following the back-to-back fall of dozens of districts to the group.
Sources said that since Saturday evening, five districts fell to the Taliban — including Sayed Abad and Chak-e-Wardak in Maidan Wardak, Rustaq in Takhar, Arghistan in Kandahar and Shortepa in Balkh.
During this period, the government forces have had some progress but have not reported recapturing any district.
"Paktia residents pledge to the government and the security agencies that we are with you," said Abdul Mallik Zazai, head of the provincial council in Paktia.
Some residents of Enjil district in Herat who have taken up arms warned the Taliban to quit violence or they will face resistance from the people.
"We pledge to the people that we will defend the country until the last drop of our blood," Farid Ahmad, a public uprising force member.
In Ghor and Kunduz as well, people say they have been left with no option but to take up arms to fight the Taliban.
"We will suppress the Taliban wherever they are. We will always support our security forces," said Abdul Rahman, a Ghor resident who has taken up arms.
"We prevented the enemy from advancing. And we are supporting the government," said Khalid, a Kunduz resident who has taken up arms.
Some politicians said that arming the people is a serious need given the current situation and they welcome this move, but they expressed their concerns about its consequences if the forces are not managed well.
"Those who lead these forces should be responsible so that when the fighting is over they will not create any problems for Afghanistan," said Asadullah Saadati, the deputy head of the High Council for National Reconciliation.
The Presidential Palace said recent moves in the last few weeks are in favor of the Republic.
"The people of Afghanistan, by supporting the security and defense forces and the Islamic Theocratic Republic of Afghanistan, joined the united umbrella of the Republic," presidential front man Latif Mahmoud said.
The Ministry of Defense assured that the activities of the public forces will be well managed.
"The mobilization of the people in support of the security and defense forces has had a considerable role in retaking territories, especially in the north, and has prevented the fall of some areas," Defense Ministry front man Fawad Aman said.
The Taliban called those who have taken up arms "Arbakis" and warned that they will not be forgiven. 
|
