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The
districts of Bano, Deh Saleh, Pul e-Hesar in Baghlan province
were taken by local militia groups in one of the first signs of
armed resistance to the Taliban since their seizure of the
capital Kabul on Aug. 15.
By Monday, Taliban forces had cleared the districts and were
established in Badakhshan, Takhar and Andarab near the Panjshir
valley, according to the Twitter account of spokesman Zabihullah
Mujahid.
Forces loyal to Ahmad Massoud, son of the anti-Soviet mujahideen
commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, have established themselves in the
Panjshir valley, a mountainous area northwest of Kabul which
resisted the Taliban before 2001.
Massoud, whose forces include remnants of regular army and
special forces units, has called for negotiations to form an
inclusive government for Afghanistan but has promised to resist
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/anti-taliban-leader-massoud-says-negotiation-only-way-forward-2021-08-22
if Taliban forces try to enter the valley.
Late on Sunday, the Taliban's Alemarah information service said
hundreds of fighters were heading towards Panjshir but there has
been no immediate confirmation of any fighting.
Zabihullah Mujahid said the Salang Pass, on the main highway
running from southern Afghanistan to the north, was open and
enemy forces were blockaded in the Panjshir valley. But his
statement suggested that there was no fighting for the moment.
"The Islamic Emirate is trying to resolve the problems
peacefully," Zabihullah said.
(Reporting by James Mackenzie; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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