The Taliban claimed to have captured the Panshir Valley, the last focus of resistance where the National Resistance Front (FRN) had entrenched itself. “The insurgents were killed and the rest fled. The respectable Panshir population has been saved from being taken hostage, ”Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.
“With this victory, our country came completely out of the swamp of war. People will now live in freedom, peace and prosperity, ”Mujahid added.
The Taliban spokesman called on “the Afghan forces that were trained in the last 20 years” to join “To the security departments” together with the members of the Islamist fighters.
The Panshir Valley, rebel stronghold
The Panshir Valley, located 80 kilometers from Kabul, was the last focus of resistance to the Taliban, who took Kabul on August 15. Since then, fighters from the National Resistance Front (FRN) had entrenched themselves in this valley, that it had already functioned as a bastion of resistance during the previous Taliban rule -from 1996 to 2001-as well as the Soviet occupation.
The FRN is made up of local militiamen loyal to Ahmad Masud, son of the famous commander Ahmed Shá Masud who led the resistance in this valley in the 1990s before being assassinated by al Qaeda, and by remnants of the Afghan army.
From ceasefire to the call to resistance
In the early hours of Monday, the FRN proposed a ceasefire and that “the Taliban stop their military operations in Panshir and withdraw their forces.” “In return, we will direct our forces to refrain from carrying out military actions,” the group said.
This Monday, Massoud stated that the FNR is still active in Panshir and will continue to fight the Taliban.. The leader sent a message that was shared on the Front’s official Facebook and Twitter pages, Afghan news channel Tolo reported.
Taliban warning
For its part, the Taliban spokesman warned: “The Islamic Emirate is very sensitive to insurgencies. Anyone who tries to start an insurgency will be firmly attacked. We will not allow another ”.
Likewise, Mujahid assured that “Final decisions have been made” to form a new government and that “now we are working on technical issues.” “We will announce the new government as soon as these technical issues are resolved,” he added.
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