When the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August, a group of insurgents entrenched themselves in the Panjshir Valley.
The group is led by Ahmad Massoud, son of the legendary rebel leader Ahmad Shah Massoud. On Sunday, Massoud said he was ready to negotiate with the Taliban, reports Reuters.
Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who considers himself the legitimate leader of Afghanistan after President Ashraf Ghani’s dramatic flight out of the country, is also part of the resistance group.
– Many are fleeing
The Italian aid organization Emergency announced on Sunday morning that Taliban forces had reached the village of Anabah, where the organization runs a hospital. The village is located 25 kilometers into the 115 kilometer long valley.
– Many people have fled villages in recent days, says Emergency and adds that they have received more wounded, and that the Taliban do not put obstacles in the way of their activities.
Panjshir is the only province where the Taliban does not yet have full control. Local fighters held out there for a long time during the Soviet occupation in the 1980s and the Taliban’s first regime in the 1990s.
– Limited opportunities
Both sides claim to have inflicted heavy losses on the opponent.
However, many observers believe that in the long run, the rebels in the Panjshir Valley have very limited opportunities to resist the Taliban. Partly because the valley today is completely surrounded by Taliban-controlled areas, partly because the Taliban gained access to many new weapons in the wake of the US withdrawal and the collapse of the government army.
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