On 24 May 2000 the last Israeli soldier left Lebanon after 18 years of war. A few months earlier I completed my national service as an IDF operations sergeant, serving in command centres on the Lebanese border. Back then I watched the withdrawal with relief; happy that the roadside bombs, shelling, Hezbollah attacks on convoys and outposts, the wounded and […]

Badghis Governor Hassamuddin Shams said Wednesday morning that all six districts in Badghis have completely fallen to the Taliban and that the group has now entered Qala-e-Naw, the provincial capital. Shams said heavy clashes are currently underway and people are extremely afraid. He said Qadis district was the last to fall and was seized Wednesday morning by the Taliban. Sources […]

A meeting between a Taliban delegation and the Afghan Republic, chaired by the Iranian Foreign Minister, got underway on Wednesday in Tehran. According to a Taliban spokesman, Mohammad Naeem, Iran invited the Taliban delegation from Doha, led by Shir Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, senior Taliban negotiator in Qatar for “bilateral meetings”. In his opening address, Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said: […]

Afghan armed forces spokesman General Ajmal Shinwari said Wednesday the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) have carried out 278 separate operations in seven provinces in the past week as they battle the Taliban. Addressing a press conference in Kabul, Shinwari said in this time, more than 2,360 insurgents have been killed, 1,412 wounded and 182 arrested including eight […]

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 […]