:watermark(cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ipmgroup/5IDEBLR7ERC5TMAPLOHS63MVNM.png,0,0,0)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ipmgroup/GHM6VC33SBABRKEICLFOYGOGKY.jpg "Taliban announce offensive against Panchir Valley")
“Hundreds of mujahedin in the Islamic Emirate are heading to Panchir state for control after local officials have refused to hand him over peacefully,” the Taliban said on their Arabic Twitter account.
The Taliban entered Kabul on August 15 without encountering resistance, following a lightning offensive that began in May after the start of the withdrawal of American and NATO forces.
A pocket of resistance has formed in the Panchir Valley, northeast of Kabul, long known as an anti-Taliban stronghold. This National Resistance Front (FNR) is notably led by Ahmad Massoud, son of Commander Ahmed Shah Massoud, assassinated in 2001 by Al-Qaeda.
The “Lion of Panchir”
FNR spokesman Ali Maisam Nazary told AFP that the Front was preparing for “a long-term conflict” with the Taliban. According to him, thousands of Afghans have joined the Panchir Valley to fight the new regime.
Photos taken by AFP during training exercises show armored vehicles driving through the valley.
“The Taliban will not last if they continue like this. We are ready to defend Afghanistan and we warn against a bloodbath,” Massoud told Al-Arabiya channel on Sunday.
In 1997 Ahmed Shah Massoud, legendary warlord nicknamed “The lion of Panchir”, blew up the Salang tunnel, built during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979-1989), thus closing the front door of the valley from the south.
Despite numerous attempts, the Taliban had never succeeded in seizing the Panchir.
Meanwhile, chaos continued to reign in Kabul airport on Sunday, which tens of thousands of Afghans are still desperately trying to leave.
The Taliban blamed the United States for being responsible for the situation.
Since entering Kabul on August 15, the Islamists have tried to convince the population that they have changed, claiming that their policies will be less brutal than when they were in charge of the country from 1996 to 2001. But that does not stop the flood of those who do not believe in their promises and want to leave.
“America, with all its power and equipment (…), has failed to bring order to the airport. There is peace and calm throughout the country, but there is only chaos at Kabul airport (…) It must end as soon as possible, “a senior Taliban official, Amir Khan Mutaqi, said on Sunday.
Seven Afghans died in this gigantic hustle and bustle at the airport, the British Ministry of Defense said on Sunday, without saying whether he was talking about a single incident or several, or when it had taken place.
A journalist, part of a group of press workers and academics who were fortunate enough to gain access to the airport on Sunday, described scenes of completely desperate Afghans clinging to their bus as they entered it.
“They showed us their passports and shouted: + Take us with you, please take us with you,” the journalist told AFP.
Hope for a miracle
Still hoping for a miracle, families remain massed between the barbed wire that surrounds the perimeter separating the Taliban from the American troops, and access to the airport remains very difficult.
Faced with this situation, the leaders of the G7 will hold a virtual meeting on Tuesday, announced the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose country currently holds the presidency of the group.
“It is vital that the international community work together to ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and help the Afghan people protect the progress (made) over the past twenty years,” he added.
US President Joe Biden has acknowledged that the evacuation operation was one of the “most difficult in history”.
Washington requisitioned the planes of several private airlines to help with the evacuation. These planes will not take off from Kabul airport but will help transport people who have been evacuated to third countries, such as Qatar or the United Arab Emirates.
The United States, which has deployed thousands of troops to try to secure the airport, has set August 31 as the deadline for completing evacuation operations. This date corresponds to that of the planned final withdrawal of the American forces present in Afghanistan.
Washington plans to evacuate between 10,000 and 15,000 of its nationals, and 50,000 to 60,000 Afghans and their families, according to the Biden administration. But a considerable number of other people try to flee.
“They want to evacuate 60,000 people by the end of the month. It’s mathematically impossible,” EU diplomat Josep Borrell told AFP.
“Disguised fighters”
Since Aug. 14, around 25,100 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan aboard military planes from the United States and allied countries, according to the White House.
On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Poutine called for preventing an influx of refugees from Afghanistan among whom “disguised fighters” could be hiding.
“Our Western partners are urging to welcome refugees in Central Asian countries until they have a visa for the United States or for other countries,” Putin said.
“But who can be (hidden) among these refugees, how can we know?”, He stressed, estimating that “hundreds, even hundreds of thousands or maybe millions” of people could want to flee the country.
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