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| Afghanistan |
| Talibunnies capture checkpoints in Baghlan province |
| 2016-04-28 |
| Taliban captured several police check posts in Dahan-e-Ghori district of northern Baghlan province on Tuesday night and have reportedly surrounded the district. Baghlan provincial council members accused government of negligence and said that the Taliban have increased their activities in Baghlan and neighboring provinces. "After the collapse of the check posts in Dahan-e-Ghori, the Taliban have actually expanded their presence and in addition to that there [in Dahan-e-Ghor] there were two important check posts of police that the government has lost [to the Taliban] now," said Besmillah Batash, a member of Baghlan provincial council. Recently President Ashraf Ghani declared the government's new stance against militants. Many however believe that there has been no change in the fight against insurgents, after the declaration of the stance. Meanwhile residents of the district warned that the district might fall to the Taliban, if fresh troops are not deployed soon. "Last night in fighting that took place in Dahan-e-Ghori, the militants captured Shahr-e-Now of Dahan-e-Ghori, Qala-e-Chahar Borja and the school," said Abdul Hafiz, a resident of the district. "Unfortunately, the routes are closed and there are lots of problems. People are faced with many challenges and most of them have set up tents at the foot of the mountains," said Kamal, another resident of the district. The Ministry of Interior (MoI) meanwhile said that military operations against militants have increased by 15 percent. "Over the past several days, our operations have increased and we had 15 percent hike in [the number of] operations and suppression of the enemy. One or two days ago, the president ordered security forces to eliminate the Taliban and put pressure on them, so that they will know that they are being followed by Afghan forces to every nook and cranny of Afghanistan," said Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for the MoI. Chief of Army Staff Qadam Shah Shahim, speaking at a ceremony to mark 8 Sawr, the 24th victory day of mujahidden against Dr. Najibullah's government, said: "We need political leadership's support in the fight against terrorist groups that no doubt we have that support. We also want continued financial, arms and equipment support of the international community that will help us in our national duty of defending independence of our country." One resident of Kabul also urged the government to deliver on its promise of bringing security to Afghanistan. "Every action has a reaction. We should take serious steps in response to terrorist activities of militants that are war and suicide attacks, so as to bring peace. If we are serous against these militants, it will also please our security forces," said Del Aqa Jalali, a Kabul resident. Another concern with people is the decrease in operations against militants in Helmand. They believe that the Taliban are busy harvesting poppy crops, and that this is a good opportunity for the government to suppress them. |
| Posted by:badanov |