Taliban fighters - The African Mirror

Sep

2021

Hunted by the men they jailed, Afghanistan’s women judges seek escape

STEPHANIE VAN DEN BERG SAFE in Europe after escaping from Kabul, an Afghan woman judge describes how she was hunted by men she had once jailed, now freed by the Taliban fighters who took over the country. "Four or five Taliban members came and asked people in my house: 'Where is this woman judge?' These were people who I had put in jail," she told Reuters in an interview from an undisclosed location, asking not to be identified. Afghanistan has around 250 women judges. A few were able to flee in recent weeks, but most were left behind and are…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Afghan Taliban seize border crossing with Pakistan in major advance

WORLD

ABDUL QADIR SEDIQI and OROOJ HAKIMI TALIBAN fighters in Afghanistan have seized control of a major border crossing with Pakistan, achieving a key strategic objective during a rapid advance across the country as U.S. forces pull out. A Pakistani official said Taliban insurgents had taken down the Afghan government flag from atop the Friendship Gate at the border crossing between the Pakistani town of Chaman and the Afghan town of Wesh. The crossing, south of Afghanistan's main southern city Kandahar, is the landlocked country's second busiest entry point and main commercial artery between its sprawling southwest region and Pakistani seaports.…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

India pulls officials from Afghanistan’s Kandahar as Taliban widens control

WORLD

INDIA has temporarily brought back officials from its consulate in Kandahar, a major city in southern Afghanistan, as Taliban fighters continue to gain control amid the withdrawal of international forces. "Due to the intense fighting near Kandahar city, India-based personnel have been brought back for the time being," Arindam Bagchi, chief spokesperson at India's foreign ministry, said in a statement. "India is closely monitoring the evolving security situation in Afghanistan," Bagchi said, adding that India's consulate in Kandahar was being run by local staff temporarily. Taliban officials said on Friday the Sunni Muslim insurgent group had taken control of 85%…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Taliban say they control 85% of Afghanistan, humanitarian concerns mount

WORLD

TALIBAN officials have claimed that the Sunni Muslim insurgent group had taken control of 85% of territory in Afghanistan, and international concern mounted over problems getting medicines and supplies into the country. Afghan government officials dismissed the assertion that the Taliban controlled most of the country as part of a propaganda campaign launched as foreign forces, including the United States, withdrew after almost 20 years of fighting. But local Afghan officials said Taliban fighters, emboldened by the withdrawal, had captured an important district in Herat province, home to tens of thousands of minority Shi'ite Hazaras. Torghundi, a northern town on…