[AfghanDigest] LAST 24 HOURS
- NURISTAN REVOLT – Reports coming out of the Mandol District in Nuristan suggest the local populace rose up against the Taliban administrative leadership in response to the execution of a popular local man who headed the district police under the former regime. According to early reporting, the local citizens gathered to protest the killing and, at some point, decided to seize the District headquarters. The District Governor reportedly fled and many local eyewitnesses stated that they believed the Governor was responsible for the murder. A source in Kabul stated the Ministry of the Interior was considering sending a force to reinstall the Governor and punish locals who are considered ringleaders in the mutiny.
- FEMALE PROTEST BROKEN UP BY TALIBAN IN KABUL – Multiple news outlets have shared videos of a protest organized by Female Afghan activists on Thursday to demonstrate solidarity with the women of Iran that was disrupted by Taliban security forces when they began firing in the air to disperse the crowd. Several sources claim that multiple arrests have been made and some of the leaders are in the custody of the morality police.
- POSSIBLE DIPLOMATIC ROW BETWEEN CHINA AND THE TALIBAN – Several inside sources say that China and the Taliban remain at odds over the failure of the Taliban to turn over several Uyghur militants wanted for questioning by Chinese authorities. Several articles have appeared in the last week that claims China has announced multiple investment projects in Afghanistan but has delivered very little. Sources in the palace say the investment projects are being used as leverage to gain custody of the Uyghurs sheltering in Afghanistan.
- AFGHAN WOMEN POSSIBLY TARGETED IN PHISHING OPERATION – Several at-risk Afghans have shared messages they have received on messaging platforms over the last four days which appear to be suspicious and may be an attempt to compromise their identities to the Taliban. In some of the messages, men claiming to be a representative of the Ahmadyar Group (name - Ahmad Shakib Ahmadyar) and an unidentified Canada/Germany evacuation group (name - Khalid Faizi) have reached out to women in Afghanistan. The Afghan Digest reached out to the Ahmadyar Group to attempt to verify if they were sponsoring an evacuation effort and did not receive a response. We assess the messages could be a phishing attempt by the Taliban’s new cyber unit to identify people and/or a scam by criminal groups to steal money or traffic women/girls. We recommend that at-risk Afghans block the messages until the sources can be authenticated.
- IRAN JOINS GROUP OF NATIONS CONCERNED ABOUT THE THREAT OF TERRORISM IN AFGHANISTAN – The Iranian representative to the UN, Zahra Ershadi, said the re-emergence of terrorism in Afghanistan poses a global threat. She went on to urge the Taliban to form an inclusive government. The Taliban has pushed back on claims of a growing terror threat within the country but seems to selectively choose which states are rebuked publicly for making such claims.
- HAQQANI INTERVENES IN THE KUCHI LAND REFORM DISPUTE – Interior Minister Sarajuddin Haqqani traveled to Khost to meet with leaders of both local inhabitants and the Kuchi tribe in an attempt to de-escalate the conflict over land reform. Little of value appeared to be said other than some placating remarks and promises for the Taliban leadership to do better. It is likely the violence will continue.
CONFLICT TRACKER
Takhar:A small NRF raiding force attacked a Talib garrison in the Baharak district during the night, wounding 2 Talibs.
Takhar: NRF forces attacked a house in The Dasht-e-Qala district in a noght rqid Wednesday. Talib commander Qari Khelan was killed and 5 Taliban were wounded in the operation.
Takhar: The NRF struck a Talib checkpoint in Farkhar district yesterday evening in a hit-and-run operation. 1 Talib fighter was killed and 3 more were said to be wounded.
Badakhshan: Clashes between Taliban and NRF fighters have been reported in the following districts: Yafta Bala, Raghistan, Kohistan, Maimai, and Kran Wa Manjan. Local sources reported 18 have been killed so far in the fighting, but could not determine which side they belonged to,
NEXT 24 HOURS
- POTENTIAL FOR MORE ARRESTS AFTER WOMEN’S PROTEST – Sources within the Ministry of the Interior claimed intelligence agents were attempting to screen social media posts from the demonstration in Kabul. They are looking for leaders of the demonstration among the photos and videos posted on social media. At-risk Afghans are encouraged to remove videos and photos they may have posted and to scour their social media for names or other identifying information that could compromise activists.
- TALIBAN FORCES HEADING TO NURISTAN – A late report stated that a column of vehicles was being sent to Nuristan to quell the revolt and reinstall the District Governor to his seat. Previous incidences of public dissent have been dealt with harshly by the Taliban and violence is a strong possibility.
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