Afghanistan..Taliban controls more areas and Europe requires lifting sanctions on it

An Afghan source said that Taliban militants have taken control of the headquarters of the Gond district in Badghis province in western Afghanistan, while a source in the Ministry of the Interior denied the movement’s control of the headquarters of the Dawlatabad district in the northern state of Faryab, the European Union said that sanctions against the Taliban will not be lifted unless the latter commits to a permanent ceasefire. Fire and seriously involved in the political process.

An Afghan source reported that 4 districts fell during the past two days at the hands of Taliban militants in 3 Afghan provinces, and the German news agency reported that Hamidullah Nowruz and Nasir Ahmad Faqiri, members of the Ghazni Provincial Council in the southeast of the country, stated yesterday that after at least 3 days of fighting, Between government forces and the Taliban in the Jagato district of the state, the beleaguered security forces abandoned the district centre.

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two local officials said that the area has strategic value, as it is considered a gateway to parts of the center of the country, and added that the Taliban can now attack neighboring areas more easily, and Nowruz and Faqiri added that there is constant fighting in Muqwar and Ab Band, which are two other districts in Ghazni province, in light of concerns The possibility of the collapse of government forces in the near future as well.

In a related context, 3 members of the local council of Dawlatabad district of Faryab state said that the government forces abandoned the area before dawn today, Tuesday, and fled to the neighboring Andkhoi district without clashing with Taliban militants.

On Monday, the Afghan government forces abandoned the Qaisar district of Faryab province, after days of fighting with the Taliban, who also took control of the Shahrak district in the western state of Ghor.

foreign withdrawal

The Taliban’s field progress comes at a time when the gradual withdrawal of foreign forces from the country continues, led by the US forces. A weekly report issued by the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) said that the US withdrawal from Afghanistan has reached 50%.

The Department of Defense must withdraw the last 2,500 military and 16,000 civilian contractors from Afghanistan by September 11, the anniversary of the 2001 attacks that led to the US invasion of the country.

On the other hand, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that sanctions against the Taliban will not be lifted unless they commit to a permanent ceasefire and engage seriously in the political process. The European official described the prospects for the Afghan peace process as bleak.

The US special envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, said that the parties to the Afghan issue are fully convinced that the Doha agreement is the basis for resolving the Afghan conflict, stressing Washington’s refusal to seize power in Afghanistan by force, in reference to the field movements of the Taliban. The US envoy added that US forces will withdraw from Afghanistan, but Washington will remain to help the Afghans, he said.

Khalilzad met on Tuesday with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and the head of the Afghan Supreme Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah. He also met with former Afghan President Hamid Karzai and some officials to discuss the peace process, and he is expected to head to the Qatari capital, Doha, for a new peace round.