Category: South East Asia

Taliban Gets Closer to Herat City as Clashes Intensify

Clashes intensified for the third day in southern parts of Herat as Taliban advanced to towards the central parts on Saturday, leading to displacement of hundreds of people. Security forces said the Taliban is using people’s houses and gardens as a shield, something that officials said has slowed down military operations. Out of 17 districts, only Guzara and the city […]

Read more ›

MPs: Army Chief Focused on Rivalries, Not War

Findings by a parliamentary committee indicate that the newly appointed chief of army staff for Afghanistan, Gen. Wali Ahmadzai, has been focusing on rivalries with corps commanders instead of managing the fight against the Taliban. The army general was appointed to the post a month ago, replacing former chief of army staff Gen. Yasin Zia, as the Taliban was taking […]

Read more ›

Taliban Blasted for Attack on Herat City

Taliban’s offensive on the city of Herat was criticized by some lawmakers and analysts as a clear violation of their commitments to the Doha agreement, saying it has displaced hundreds of families and has created panic in the western city. Under the US-Taliban agreement signed last year in Doha, the Taliban pledged to avoid attacks on major cities. “Taliban had […]

Read more ›

U.S. ‘deeply troubled’ by attacks on civilians as Taliban sweep across Afghanistan

The United States said on Wednesday it was deeply troubled by reports of escalating attacks on civilians as the Taliban sweep across Afghanistan and Washington pulls out its last remaining troops and ends its longest war. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on a visit to India, said the only path to peace in Afghanistan was through negotiations, which all parties […]

Read more ›

Russia deploys fighter jets to Tajikistan for drills near Afghanistan

Russia has deployed Sukhoi Su-25 fighter jets from its base in Kyrgyzstan to Tajikistan for joint military drills near Afghanistan, RIA news agency stated. The drills, which are set to take place on August 5 to 10 and involve Uzbek and Tajik forces, comes amid a deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan. This comes after Russia deployed military tanks earlier this […]

Read more ›

Over 5,500 civilians killed or wounded in Afghanistan in past four months

The State Ministry for Peace Affairs said on Thursday that 5,587 civilians and 24,609 Taliban have been killed or wounded since the start of the current solar year (in the past four months) across the country. Based on the new figures, more than 2,500 civilians were killed in clashes between Taliban and ANDSF. The ministry said the Taliban had carried […]

Read more ›

Russia voices concern over security situation in wake of troops withdrawal

Russian Defense Minister, Sergey Shoygu, said in a meeting with his Tajik counterpart on Thursday that Afghanistan’s security situation is deteriorating following the hasty withdrawal of US troops. He also said Daesh has expanded their activities in northern Afghanistan. Shoygu said that going forward Moscow will train Tajik forces to prevent any infiltration of the terrorist organization from Afghanistan. “The […]

Read more ›

Chinese FM urges Taliban to draw clear line from East Turkestan Islamic Movement

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday met with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, political chief of Afghanistan’s Taliban in Tianjin, Xinhua reported. The Afghan Taliban, as a critical military and political force in the country, is expected to play an important role in the peace, reconciliation and reconstruction process of Afghanistan, Wang said. He called on the […]

Read more ›

Fighting Reported in 20 Provinces in Past 24 Hours

Fighting between the Afghan security forces and the Taliban reportedly continued in at least 20 provinces across the country in the past 24 hours including Ghazni, Takhar, Kandahar, Helmand and Baghlan provinces. In the latest incidents of violence, several rounds of rockets hit Maimana city, the center of Faryab province, and PD5 of Lashkargah city has also fallen to the […]

Read more ›

Taliban negotiating team member’s son killed in clashes in Afghanistan

Anas Haqqani, a member of the Taliban’s negotiating team, confirmed Tuesday that the son of Mohammad Nabi Omari, a member of the Taliban leadership and negotiating team, was killed in a battle with government forces. In a tweet, Haqqani confirmed the killing of Omari. But he did not give any further details. The Afghan government also confirmed that Abdul Haq […]

Read more ›