The impregnable Afghan province of Punjir: the Taliban sent hundreds of fighters to it – Topky

“Hundreds of Mujahideen from the Islamic Emirate are heading to the province of Punjir to take control of it after local officials refused to hand it over peacefully.” wrote the Taliban in his Arabic Twitter account. In recent days, prominent Punjir officials have announced resistance to the Taliban, not recognizing it as a legitimate ruler of Afghanistan. Several Afghan officials have taken refuge in Punjir, including Vice President Amrullah Salih, who has declared himself the country’s interim president.

Since the Taliban controlled most of Afghanistan, including the capital Kabul, thousands of people from across the country have gathered in the province of Punjir, according to anti-Tibetan forces spokesman Ali Majsam Nazari. The anti-Tibetan resistance plans to gather a total of 9,000 fighters, Nazari told AFP. According to some sources, more than 6,000 fighters from the army, special forces and local militias have already gathered in the valley. There were also reports on Saturday that the troops had conquered three districts in the neighboring province of Baghlan north of Punjir, Reuters reported.

Source: SITA / AP Photo / Rahmat Gul

In addition to Amrullah Salih, Ahmad Masoud, the son of the assassinated commander of the United States-backed Northern Alliance, Ahmad Shah Masoud, is at the forefront of the resistance against the Taliban. His assassination, which took place on September 9, 2001 – just two days before the terrorist attacks on the United States – was the fault of the Taliban and the al-Qaeda terrorist network. During its rule in 1996-2001, the Taliban did not conquer Punjir, despite being only about 100 kilometers from Kabul. The mountainous valley with a narrow entrance is relatively easy to defend, the DPA agency said. Reuters adds that the valley was not conquered by Soviet troops in the 1980s and is still “littered” with the wreckage of Soviet armed vehicles destroyed in the fighting at the time.

Source: SITA / AP Photo / Rahmat Gul