Jubilee Post News & Views
Special Desk
Within two days the Taliban have moved ahead to take control of yet another Afgan city Sheberghan.
The Taliban say they have taken control of the city of Sheberghan in the northern Afghan province of Jawzjan. This is the second regional capital to fall to the militants, after Zaranj in the south-western province of Nimroz fell on Friday.
An Afghan defence ministry spokesman told government forces were still in the city and would clear out the Taliban soon. It is a major blow to security forces, with battles raging across the country.
There are also reports of heavy fighting in Kunduz in the north and Lashkar Gah in the south. Violence has escalated across Afghanistan after US and other international forces began to withdraw their troops from the country, following 20 years of military operations.
The resurgent Taliban have taken more territory in Afghanistan in the last two months than at any time since they were ousted from power in 2001. Over the last 20 years, the control map of Afghanistan has been an ever-changing canvas. It appears the Taliban have been emboldened in recent weeks by the withdrawal of US troops – retaking many districts from government forces.
Research shows the militants now have a strong presence across the country, including in the north and north-east and central provinces like Ghazni and Maidan Wardak. They are also closing in on major cities such as Kunduz, Herat, Kandahar and Lashkar Gah.
Taliban militants have made rapid advances in recent weeks, capturing large swathes of the countryside, and are now targeting key towns and cities.
Sheberghan is a stronghold of the former Afghan vice-president and warlord, Abdul Rashid Dostum, whose supporters have been leading the fight against the insurgents.
The Taliban first took control of the governor’s compound on Friday during intense fighting, before it was retaken by Afghan security forces. However, the region’s council chief, Babur Eshchi, told the militants were now in control of the whole city, except an army base, where fighting was still going on.
Their main areas of influence were around their traditional strongholds in the south and south-west – northern Helmand, Kandahar, Uruzgan, and Zabul provinces. But also, in the hills of southern Faryab in the north-west and the mountains of Badakhshan in the north east.
Taliban officials also said they had captured a prison in Sheberghan. Video on social media shows hundreds of inmates leaving the city jail. Other provincial capitals under pressure include Herat in the west, and the southern cities of Kandahar and Lashkar Gah.
