Afghanistan..Taliban controls the ninth provincial capital and bombs Bagram and Washington expects a faster collapse of the government
The Taliban announced that it had taken control of the city of Faizabad, the center of Badakhshan province in northern Afghanistan, to be the ninth capital of a state controlled by the movement in less than a week, while international talks continue in the Qatari capital, Doha, to discuss the Afghan crisis.
"The security forces that have been fighting the Taliban for several days have been under severe pressure. The Taliban have now taken over the city, and both sides have suffered heavy losses," MP Zabihullah Atiq said late yesterday.
International concern escalates..Accelerating advance of the Taliban and an American diplomat predicts a long civil war in Afghanistan
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The countries sponsoring peace in Afghanistan intensify their meetings to discuss ways to achieve stability
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that Taliban fighters took control of the provinces of Baghlan and Badakhshan last night, in the north-east of the country, and that they targeted Bagram military base, north of the capital, Kabul, with missiles.
He added that the movement is now controlling the states of Nimroz, Jawzjan, Sarbel, Kunduz, Takhar, Semangan, Farah, Baghlan and Badakhshan.
The capitals of the nine states controlled by the Taliban (out of 34 Afghan state capitals), 6 of them are in the north, while they control large parts of other states without their capitals.
AJ NEWS correspondent quoted a security source as saying that Taliban militants are attacking the city of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan from several sides.
On the other hand, the Afghan Ministry of Defense said that 25 Taliban fighters were killed in an air strike by the Afghan forces in the southern province of Kandahar.
A security source confirmed to AJ NEWS that 4 missiles fired by Taliban fighters fell on Bagram Air Base, without material or human losses.
The governor of Farah province told Al Jazeera that Taliban militants took control of the central prison in the province and clashed with Afghan forces.
Afghan President Muhammad Ashraf Ghani arrived in Balkh province in northern Afghanistan to assess the security and field situation after several attacks on the city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
The country is witnessing rapid transformations, amid attacks and remarkable progress by the Taliban movement in several axes in Afghanistan, where the movement announced its control over large areas in the country, including more than 150 regions, in addition to the border crossings with Tajikistan, and the checkpoints on the borders with Iran and Turkmenistan.
The frequency of confrontations between Afghan security forces and Taliban militants has escalated, coinciding with the start of the withdrawal of US and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces in early May, which is scheduled to be completed by next September 11.
Dostum to Mazar-i-Sharif
Afghan media said that the former warlord, Abdul Rashid Dostum, left for Mazar Sharif, the largest city in northern Afghanistan, accompanied by dozens of security forces.
And the Afghan Ariana News Agency indicated that there are reports that Dostum may soon lead the war and military operations against the Taliban in the north of the country.
Dostum's spokesman, Ehsan Nairo, said that the trip is being carried out in coordination with President Ashraf Ghani, according to local media.
Russia: Taliban seized control of the borders with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the Taliban had taken control of the Afghan borders with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
This came in statements made by the Russian Minister, on Tuesday, about the situation in Afghanistan during his participation in the Land of Meaning Youth Education Forum, which was held in Solnechnogorsk region in the capital, Moscow.
In his statements, Shoigu indicated that the Taliban are advancing in Afghanistan, and that the Afghan borders with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are now under the control of the movement, which also took control of the province of Kunduz (north), which is considered a large and very dangerous center.
The Minister also pointed out that there are threats in Afghanistan represented by the presence of drug smugglers and terrorists who infiltrate Russia through Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, stressing the need for the countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) to be prepared for this.
The government delegation accuses the Taliban
The Afghan government delegation headed by the Chairman of the Reconciliation Committee Abdullah Abdullah concluded its meetings with the delegations of the countries participating in the expanded international meeting in Doha on Afghanistan.
A delegation from the Taliban movement joined the meeting, which discusses the latest developments in the Afghan file in light of the fighting on the ground.
The State of Qatar seeks to mobilize regional and international support and consensus to achieve peace and stability in Afghanistan.
The head of the Afghan Reconciliation Commission, Abdullah Abdullah, said that the Taliban had violated its obligations, escalating war and violence, and launching attacks on cities.
He added during his meeting with special envoys from the international community that the movement is not ready to discuss the main issues to resolve the crisis.
Abdullah Abdullah explained that he spoke with Taliban representatives and agreed with them to speed up negotiations, find a political solution and accept the presence of a mediator.
The Taliban is committed to the Doha negotiations
On the other hand, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that when the Afghan government puts obstacles in the way of negotiations and the political process, the Taliban movement must resort to a military solution, and thus achieve its legitimate goal, as he described it.
A spokesman for the political office of the Taliban, Muhammad Naim, affirmed the movement's commitment to the success of the Doha negotiations.
In a previous interview with Al Jazeera, Naim said that the success of the negotiations is contingent on the commitment of all parties to their commitments in accordance with previous agreements.
In a related development, CNN quoted an official source in the Pentagon as saying that there are ongoing discussions between officials in the US State Department regarding an additional reduction in the number of employees at the embassy in Kabul, and that a partial withdrawal of employees is likely to occur in the days or weeks. coming.
He added that US officials have stopped talking about 6 months as a possible timetable for the collapse of the government in Afghanistan, and now believe that its collapse could happen much sooner.
He pointed out that the United States does not feel that the Afghan capital is under direct threat, but the administration must be prepared.
Assessment of the security situation of the US Embassy
The US State Department also announced that the United States is assessing the security situation surrounding its embassy in (Afghan capital) Kabul on a daily basis.
This came in statements made by the Ministry's spokesman, Ned Price, during his daily press conference.
Asked about the possibility of another possible reduction of the mission's personnel amid the Taliban's control of seven provincial capitals, Price said, "It is clearly a challenging security environment... We are assessing threats on a daily basis."
The spokesman added that the embassy "is in constant contact with Washington with the most senior officials in this building, who in turn communicate with our colleagues in the National Security Council and the White House."
On the possibility of obstructing the security situation in Afghanistan for US diplomacy there, Price said, "We are able so far to continue those major activities that we have to carry out on the ground."
Biden does not regret
In the same context, US President Joe Biden confirmed on Tuesday that he "does not regret" his decision to withdraw US forces from Afghanistan, which is scheduled to be completed at the end of this month, calling on Afghans to show "fighting resolve."
"I do not regret my decision," he said in an interview with reporters at the White House.
US forces are scheduled to end their withdrawal from Afghanistan on August 31, ending a 20-year war the United States has fought.
Biden added that Afghans "must have the will to fight" and "they have to fight for themselves, for their nation."
"We have spent more than a thousand billion dollars in 20 years, we have trained and equipped (...) more than 300,000 Afghan soldiers," he said.
Biden confirmed that the Americans would "keep their promise" to continue supporting the Afghan army on the logistical and financial level.
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