Taliban and opposition forces battled on Saturday to control the Panjshir Valley north of Kabul, the last Afghan province holding out against the militant group, after negotiations between two sides broke down in late August.
Both sides claimed to have the upper hand in Panjshir, but neither could produce conclusive evidence to prove it. The Taliban, which swept through the country ahead of the final withdrawal of U.S.-led forces on August 31, were unable to control the valley when they ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi said the districts of Khinj and Unabah had been taken, giving Taliban forces control of four of the province's seven districts.
"The Mujahideen (Taliban fighters) are advancing toward the center (of the province)," he said on Twitter.
Taliban members gather in front of the Herat governorate, Herat, Afghanistan, August 31, 2021. /CFP
The anti-Taliban forces have denied the claim. In a message from Ahmad Massoud, the head of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF), the resistance said the fight was going on, and they will never give up.
"We will never give up the fight for God, freedom and justice," Massoud wrote on Facebook. "The fight, like Panjshir, who has stood strong until now and ... shows that people have not given up on their demands and fight for the truth."
"Our people will never get tired of trusting God and will move forward to building a prosperous, free and independent Afghanistan," he said.
NRF spokesperson Fahim Dashti said "heavy clashes" were going on, and the forces have surrounded "thousands of terrorists" in the Khawak pass. He also said the Taliban had abandoned vehicles and equipment in the Dashte Rewak area.
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Anti-Taliban forces take part in military training in Panjshir province, Afghanistan, September 2, 2021. /CFP
The NRF and the Taliban held their first direct talks on August 25, but the negotiations seemed to break down, with each side blaming the other for the failure of talks as the Taliban prepared to announce a government.
Emergency, an Italian medical aid organization, said Taliban forces had pushed further into the Panjshir Valley on Friday night, reaching the village of Anabah where the group has medical facilities.
"We have received a small number of wounded people at the Anabah Surgical Center," Emergency said in a statement, adding that many people fled in recent days.
It was not immediately possible to get further independent confirmation of events in Panjshir, which is walled off by mountains except for a narrow entrance.
The Taliban are due to form a new government with members of the government to be announced in two to three days, Ahmadullah Wasiq, deputy head of the Taliban's cultural commission, told a CMG reporter on Friday.
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According to Wasiq, preparations for the inaugural meeting of the new Afghan government are proceeding in an orderly manner.
"When the time comes, guests from local and abroad will attend," he said without giving any names.
(With input from Reuters)
(Cover: A general view of Panjshir Province, Afghanistan, August 23, 2021. /CFP)