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Over 1,000 more Afghan troops flee to Tajikistan to ‘save lives’ after clashes with Taliban: BBC

This is the third retreat to Tajikistan reported in the past three days. In all, nearly 1,600 soldiers are believed to have crossed the border. Violence comes as US, NATO withdraw troops from Afghanistan.

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New Delhi: More Afghan troops have fled across the border to Tajikistan to “save their own lives”, amid a surge of violence in Afghanistan in recent weeks, allegedly between the Taliban and the Afghan army, a BBC report said Tuesday citing a statement by the Tajikistan border troops.

“During the armed clashes with the Taliban, 1,037 servicemen of the Afghan governmental forces, in order to save the lives of their personnel, retreated and entered into Tajikistan through the border areas…,” read the statement by the Tajikistan border troops.

The uptick in violence comes as the US, UK and allies withdraw forces from Afghanistan after nearly two decades.

Speaking to the BBC, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said the group was not responsible for the recent increase in violence, and that many districts had fallen to the Taliban “through mediation”, after Afghan soldiers refused to fight them.

In April, US President Joe Biden had announced a full withdrawal of US and allied troops from Afghanistan by 11 September this year, which would end America’s longest war. This is an extension of the 1 May deadline earlier brokered by the Donald Trump administration and the Taliban.

The deal entails the withdrawal of US and its NATO allies on the commitment that the Taliban will not allow any extremist group to operate in the areas they controlled. However, the Taliban did not agree to stop fighting Afghan forces, noted the BBC.

This latest retreat is the third such by the Afghan troops into Tajikistan reported in the past three days, and in total, nearly 1,600 soldiers have crossed the border, according to the BBC.

In response to the crossing over of the Afghan soldiers into Tajikistan, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon ordered the mobilisation of 20,000 reserve troops to the border Monday, a statement on the presidency’s website said.


Also read: ‘Keep a bit of Afghanistan in White House’—what India should tell US. For Quad’s sake


Afghan soldiers could be seeking refuge in Pakistan, Uzbekistan

In April, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had said Afghan security forces are fully capable of fighting insurgents. But there have been reports of soldiers seeking refuge in Pakistan and Uzbekistan, allegedly to escape the fight with the Taliban.

Zabihullah Atiq, a parliamentarian from Badakhshan, was quoted by the BBC as saying that the troops have used various routes to flee.

With the new surge in violence in Afghanistan, the country’s forces are facing an unprecedented level of combat in the absence of foreign troops to bolster their strength, reported the BBC. The news agency estimated that the Taliban controls about a third of the country.

The recent increase in violence, allegedly between the Taliban and the Afghan troops, has left many in Afghanistan worried about the future. Zahra, a 25-year-old resident of Kabul, told the BBC: “People are expecting a wider than ever war. A lot of people in Kabul fear that the Taliban might reach us at any time.”

Meanwhile, according to the BBC report, Russia Monday announced that it had temporarily suspended operations at its consulate in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif because of the deteriorating security situation.

(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)


Also read: When will China rule the world? Maybe never


 

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