Read more about Afghan crisis: 600 Taliban fighters killed in Panjshir, says resistance on Business Standard. Top US general warns of a ‚civil war‘ if the Islamists fail to consolidate power
Nearly 600 fighters were killed in Afghanistan’s northeastern province of Panjshir, the last Afghan province holding out against the hardline Islamist group, the Afghan resistance forces have claimed. “About 600 terrorists have been liquidated in various districts of Panjshir since morning. More than 1,000 militants have been captured or surrendered themselves,” the resistance forces‘ spokesperson Fahim Dashti tweeted, according to Sputnik News, adding that the Taliban had problems with getting supplies from other Afghan provinces. 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 US-led forces this week, were unable to control the valley when they ruled 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 centre (of the province),” he said on Twitter. But the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, grouping forces loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud, said it surrounded “thousands of terrorists” in Khawak pass and the Taliban had abandoned vehicles and equipment in the Dashte Rewak area. Front spokesman Fahim Dashti added “heavy clashes” were going on. In a Facebook post, Massoud insisted Panjshir “continues to stand strongly.” Praising “our honourable sisters”, he said demonstrations by women in the western city of Herat calling for their rights showed Afghans had not given up demands for justice and “they fear no threats.” US General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, underscored the tenuous situation. “My military estimate is, is that the conditions are likely to develop of a civil war. I don’t know if the Taliban is going to be able to consolidate power and establish governance,” Milley said.
