MOSCOW, September 1. /TASS/. Fighting between Afghanistan’s resistance forces and the militants of the Taliban radical movement (outlawed in Russia) is raging on in various regions of the Panjshir, Parwan, and Baghlan Provinces, the Ashwaka news agency reported on Wednesday, citing sources.
According to the news agency, the clashes began approximately at 23:00 local time (21:30 Moscow time) on Tuesday following the militants’ attack and are still underway. The number of casualties at this point is unknown.
On Tuesday, Taliban members claimed that they had managed to capture three important regions as well as mountain passages in Panjshir and that they would announce a "complete victory" soon. Later, the resistance forces refuted this information.
Last week, the first direct talks between the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan and a delegation from the Taliban were held in the town of Charikar, the administrative center of Parwan Province. As spokesman for the resistance forces Fahim Dashty told TASS, the issue of reaching a deal with the radicals on a ceasefire in northern Afghanistan is only being discussed. Earlier, he noted that the region not controlled by the Taliban does not want the government to include "the symbolic representatives of various ethnic groups" and wants to attain the formation of a truly inclusive governing body.
After the Biden administration had announced the end of Washington’s 20-year-long military operation in Afghanistan and the launch of its troop pullout, the Taliban embarked on an offensive against Afghan government forces.
On August 15, Taliban fighters swept into Kabul without encountering any resistance and gained full control over the Afghan capital within a few hours. Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani said he had stepped down to prevent any bloodshed and subsequently fled the country. Vice President Amrullah Saleh announced that, in the absence of the head of state, the constitution empowered him to become the caretaker president and urged the Afghan people to join the resistance against the Taliban. The armed resistance in the country’s Panjshir Province is led by Ahmad Massoud, the son of renowned guerilla commander Ahmad Shah Massoud (1953-2001).