[AfghanDigest] LAST 24 HOURS
- BLAST NEAR MILITARY AIRPORT IN KABUL – 2023 started off with blood after a spokesman for the Interior Ministry confirmed a blast had targeted a security checkpoint that controls access to a neighborhood where senior Taliban officials live. Initial reports state that 8 people were killed and another 10 are seriously injured from the blast. It is not yet clear what method was used to execute the attack (vehicle, suicide vest, planted device, etc) and no group has yet claimed credit.
- AFGHANS IN THE US HOLD PROTEST IN FRONT OF WHITE HOUSE – Afghans living in the mid-Atlantic region descended on Washington DC and picketed outside of the White House to protest the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls.
- RUSSIAN GAS PLAN HAILED BY TALIBAN OFFICIALS – Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister recently announced they intended to export natural gas to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Details were not presented and some skeptics warned the plan would face serious obstacles as Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan have been planning a similar development project but had not invited Russia to the table.
- NEW IRANIAN AMBASSADOR ASSUMES DUTIES IN KABUL – Ambassador Hassan Kazemi Qoomi became Iran’s top diplomat in Kabul on 1 January.
- UN MET WITH TALIBAN LEADER IN KABUL TO DISCUSS GENDER BAN – The Deputy of UNAMA, Markus Potzel, met with Maulvi Abdul Salam Hanafi to discuss both the ban on women working with UN and NGO aid efforts as well as the ban on women’s attendance at Universities. Potzel’s meeting comes shortly after the acting head of UNAMA had met with the Minister of the Economy and before a planned visit by the UN head of Aid, Martin Griffiths. There has been no word about the progress of the discussions.
CONFLICT TRACKER
Kabul: A bomb was detonated at one of the security checkpoints near the military airport in Kabul. The most recent casualty count says that 8 people were killed and 10 others injured. The military airport is adjacent to Kabul’s international airport and the blast occurred at the main checkpoint along Airport Road. The specific checkpoint that was attacked serves as the main entrance for the housing area where senior Taliban officials reside. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
NEXT 24 HOURS
TALIBAN DISPATCHES MORE REINFORCEMENTS TO SOUTHERN KANDAHAR – Several columns of armored vehicles were seen arriving in Southern Kandahar. By yesterday evening an estimated 800 additional fighters had arrived at the garrison near Spin Boldak Gate. Today, many are expected to depart to positions along the Durand Line today and the next day. A source in the Ministry of Defense said the deployments are in anticipation of Pakistani actions that will be taken against TTP enclaves in Afghanistan. The second convoy of reinforcements is expected to depart on Wednesday morning. |