Taliban escalates hostilities and controls border crossings in Afghanistan

Mustafa Kamel

It seems that the Taliban has become more emboldened in recent weeks due to the withdrawal of US forces and the recapture of many vital areas and cities from government forces, as it has escalated hostilities, in addition to its refusal to share power with the Afghan government after Kabul expressed its desire to do so if the fate of the country was decided by the free expression of the will of the Afghan people.

The extremist movement is heading towards adopting a new strategy in its hostilities by controlling the border crossings and provincial centers, especially the border ones, as the total crossings controlled by the Taliban amounted to seven border crossings, representing about two thirds of the country’s crossings, since the escalation of its hostilities in June.

Failed ceasefire

The Taliban announced through the spokesman of its political office in Doha that there is no agreement on a ceasefire with the Afghan government, explaining that the Afghan government chose to declare war and that what the Taliban is doing is only part of a reaction to the attacks.

Despite the continued presence of international forces in the country and the spending of billions of dollars on supporting and training Afghan forces, the Taliban was able to regroup and gradually regain strength in remote areas.

On the morning of Monday, August 9, the Taliban gained control of five of the capitals of the 34 Afghan provinces after seizing three of them the previous day, including the city of Kunduz, in a major attack that the Afghan army was unable to stop. The movement also took control of Sar-e Pul and Taloqan, the capitals of the two provinces located to the south and east of Kunduz.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the movement’s control of Taloqan, pointing to the return of security to it, as well as to Kunduz and Sar-e Pul.

Meanwhile, AFP reported that the Taliban took control of all the main buildings in the city of about 300,000 people, which was occupied by the Taliban twice in recent years, in 2015 and 2016, and represents a strategic crossroads in northern Afghanistan between Kabul and Tajikistan. AFP noted that the control of Kunduz is the Taliban’s biggest military success since the start of its offensive in May with the start of the withdrawal of international forces, which must end by August 31.

Under the headline “In Afghanistan: Irresistible progress for the Taliban”, the French newspaper Liberation said that the attacks of the Taliban gained momentum with the control of Kunduz after fighting escalated over the weekend against the government army, noting that the movement is advancing at a high speed against the Afghan government forces, which led to the fall of Kunduz after fierce but short fighting with the regular Afghan army, constituting a worrying sign for the army.

Liberation considered that the Taliban’s control of Kunduz constitutes a major military and political success for the movement, noting that this city is the fourth largest in the country and represents a strategic crossroads between Kabul and Tajikistan for economic relations with Central Asia.

Control of border crossings

Afghanistan has more than ten border crossings with Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and the Taliban has taken control of seven of them, most notably the Shir Khan Bandar border crossing with Tajikistan in the northern province of Kunduz, which the movement took control of on June 22, as well as the Islam Qala crossing in the province of Heart, one of the largest trade gateways between Afghanistan and Iran, generating monthly revenues estimated at $20 million for the Afghan government, which was taken over by the movement on July 8.

The Taliban also took control of the Abu Nasar Farahi crossing on July 8, as it is one of the most important border crossings with Iran, and the Torghundi border crossing, one of the commercial gates to Turkmenistan located in the western province of Herat, which the movement took control of on July 9.

In addition, the movement took control of the Spin Boldak crossing with Pakistan in Kandahar on July 14, in addition to the Ai-Khanoum border crossing with Tajikistan and the Dand-e Patan border crossing with Pakistan.

In addition to the border crossings, the Taliban was able to take control of four provincial capitals, including the city of Zaranj, the capital of Nimruz on the border with Iran, the city of Sherberghan, the capital of Jowzjan on the border with Turkmenistan, and the cities of Sar-e Pul and Kunduz, the capitals of the two northern provinces bearing the same name. Zaranj was the first capital controlled by the movement since the administration of US President Joe Biden announced the complete withdrawal of his country’s forces from Afghanistan.

Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar announced the government’s readiness for peace with the Taliban and the sharing of power with it, stressing that his country does not have many conditions for establishing peace between the Afghan parties, noting that the only condition for the Afghan government to establish peace with the movement is that the fate of Afghanistan be decided by the free expression of the will of the Afghan people.