[AfghanDigest] LAST 24 HOURS- UN SECURITY COUNCIL ON EDGE AFTER FRIDAY MEETING – A couple of key issues were raised at the UNSC meeting on Friday that appear to be making council member-states nervous. The first issue involves the proliferation of arms trafficking from Afghanistan to other parts of the world and the second involved an assessment that ISIS-K’s strength was growing in Afghanistan and that tactical proficiency in its attacks against the Taliban was increasing. The UNSC heard reports from two senior UN counter-terrorism officials concerning these threats. It was not immediately clear if a course of action to deter either threat would be put in motion.
- QATAR CALLS INTO QUESTION THE LACK OF A CLEAR POLICY FOR DEALING WITH THE TALIBAN – Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the Qatari Foreign Minister raised several issues at a recent meeting at the International Institute for Strategic Studies that cast doubt on the current course when it comes to dealing with the Taliban. He complained of a lack of a roadmap or milestone list that could chart a way forward for the country and said that lacking any kind of roadmap would only succeed in helping to solve minor problems. He went on to warn that disengagement from the Taliban would lead to a vacuum and greater chaos in the country. It is important to note that Qatar was on the scene very early in the crisis and likely has a better read of the internal thinking within the Taliban than most. It is generally felt that the de facto leaders will need to reverse their gender discrimination policies before engagement can occur.
- US LEADERS HONOR THE US SERVICE MEMBERS AND AFGHANS KILLED AT THE ABBEY GATE BOMBING – Several US officials released statements to mark the 2 year anniversary of the Abbey Gate terrorist bomb attack that killed 13 US military personnel and over 100 Afghans at the Kabul airport on 26 August 2021.
- ACCUSATIONS OF TIES TO RESISTANCE FORCES RESULTS IN EVICTIONS FROM FAMILY HOMES – Disturbing reports received by Hasht-E Subh claim that Taliban security forces in Baghlan continue to displace families over alleged collaboration (or sympathy) with the National Resistance Front. Hasht-E Subh’s sources say that at least 15 families have been forcibly removed from their homes across the Province in recent days and that a concerted effort to force more families to leave has been ongoing for the last three days. An unknown number of families have been given a forty-eight-hour deadline to leave their homes in the villages of Khosh-Dara and Khawosh (Khust District). Sources in Kabul say the displacements often have nothing to do with support for the Resistance and that many of these operations have been undertaken to give the homes to displaced TTP members and/or as gifts to loyal Taliban supporters. Hundreds have lost their homes in the Northern Provinces over the course of 2022 and 2023.
CONFLICT TRACKER
- Parwan: The NRF announced it had launched an early morning operation against a Taliban security checkpoint in the province. They claim to have killed 3 Taliban fighters in the action,
- Takhar: In an undisclosed location in Takhar Province, the NRF says it conducted a raid on a Taliban facility that resulted in the deaths of 3 Taliban members.
NEXT 24 HOURS: No Threats Reported