About 600 Afghan security force members who crossed the border into Tajikistan while retreating from Taliban fighters last week have been flown home on four flights since late Tuesday. RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reported Wednesday that the last flight carrying 130 Afghan servicemen left the Kulob airport on Wednesday morning. Tajik authorities have not said how many Afghan servicemen remain in […]

Ross Wilson, Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy in Kabul, said Wednesday that the Taliban offensive violates the human rights of Afghans amid a surge in Taliban attacks across the country. Wilson stated that the Taliban offensive is bringing hardship to communities across Afghanistan which is already grappling with drought, poverty, and COVID-19. “It violates Afghans’ human rights and provokes […]

Россия окажет поддержку Таджикистану в рамках договора ОДКБ из-за ситуации на границе с Афганистаном. Об этом Владимир Путин заявил своему коллеге Эмомали Рахмону. Афганские правительственные войска за последние дни потерпели серию болезненных поражений от отрядов запрещенного в России движения «Талибан». В результате регулярные части вынуждены были отступить на территорию соседних Таджикистана и Узбекистана. Обозреватель “Ъ” Максим Юсин опасается, что после […]

Russia’s Consulate in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif has temporarily closed due to security concerns in Balkh province, Russian Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said on Monday. Speaking to Russia’s TASS news agency, Kabulov said: “The situation is unstable, the Afghan troops have surrendered too many districts. Naturally, that triggers anxiety. So, many consulates [of other countries in Mazar-e-Sharif] […]

The U.S. left Afghanistan’s Bagram Airfield after nearly 20 years by shutting off the electricity and slipping away in the night without notifying the base’s new Afghan commander, who discovered the Americans’ departure more than two hours after they left, Afghan military officials said, the Associated Press reported. The U.S. announced Friday it had completely vacated its biggest airfield in […]

Sources said that 11 districts have fallen to the Taliban in the last 24 hours – seven districts in Badakhshan, two districts in Kandahar, one in Parwan and one in Helmand. The districts are Maimai, Nusai, Shuki, Khwahan, Ishakashim, Shuhada and Yawan in Badakhshan, Nish and Mianshin in Kandahar, Nawa in Helmand and Shinwari in Parwan. Badakhshan residents in northeastern […]

Admitting some shortcomings in protecting remote districts from falling to militants, the Afghan Army Chief Gen. Wali Mohammad Ahmadzai, who was newly appointed to his post, pledged that the top priority is to safeguard major cities, border towns and highways. He said that the closure of border towns, supply routes and attacks on major cities and districts are among the […]

State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi has urged Washington to act with sincerity and work toward solutions on a variety of hot-spot issues including Afghanistan. Addressing the ninth World Peace Forum in Beijing on Saturday, Wang said since the US military began withdrawing from Afghanistan, violence has spiked and the urgent need for humanitarian assistance has increased substantially. China […]

While capturing Kabul is “not Taliban policy”, any foreign troops left in Afghanistan after NATO’s September withdrawal deadline will be at risk as occupiers, the Taliban told the BBC. This comes amid reports that as many as 1,000 US troops could stay on in Afghanistan to protect the American Embassy and Kabul’s international airport. Speaking to the BBC, Taliban spokesman […]

Government forces plan a counteroffensive in Afghanistan’s northern provinces after losing ground to the Taliban, Russia’s RIA news agency quoted adviser to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani as saying on Monday. National security adviser Hamdullah Mohib, who was in Moscow on Monday for talks with senior security officials, told RIA in an interview that government forces had not expected the Taliban […]