Afghan troops on Tuesday clashed with Taliban insurgents in a bid to prevent the fall of the ancient city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
The outskirts of the northern capital of Balkh province became the latest battleground in the war-torn country as the Taliban continued to target strategic cities in the wake of foreign troop withdrawals from Afghanistan.
The group has seized five provincial capitals since Saturday after extending its control over much of the country in recent months.
Afghan government planes bombed areas in Dehdade, the prime focus of Tuesday’s fighting, located nearly 20 kilometers from western Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan’s third-largest city close to the border with Uzbekistan, Saifora Niazi, a lawmaker from the city, told Arab News.
“The Taliban have fired some rockets on the army corps in the area. Fire is rising from the compound; people are concerned about the fighting and what will occur in the city,” she said.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, told Arab News that the group “had tightened the net on government forces” in Mazar-i-Sharif, Badakhshan and Baghlan provinces, capturing more territory in large parts of northern Afghanistan.
After 20 years of war, US-led foreign forces are pulling out of Afghanistan following a February 2020 deal in Qatar between Washington and the Taliban, which they removed from power in late 2001.
Despite the US-Taliban agreement, the group’s latest attacks have seen it overrun five critical areas in lightning offensives, overwhelming government troops left exposed by the departing foreign forces.
Kunduz, Sar-i-Pul, Shiberghan, and Taloqan fell to the group within days of each other, and experts have warned that the Taliban’s possible takeover of Mazar-i-Sharif would be a major loss for the Afghan government and could impact its march on Kabul.
Taj Mohammad, a Kabul-based analyst, told Arab News that given the strategic importance of Mazar-i-Sharif – where a major key trade border crossing was located – the Taliban would try to capture the city, “by force or through the surrender of forces like they did in other parts of the country.”
He said: “Mazar is vital both for the Taliban and the government. The city is under Taliban siege from various sites. The loss of numerous towns in the north have proven the government is not capable of fending off Taliban attacks.
“Its fall would be a heavy blow to Kabul’s authority and would lead to the capture of remaining parts in the north which would eventually also impact the Taliban’s future advances toward Kabul.”
Niazi said Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s administration was to blame for the losses, highlighting its “failure to send supplies, fuel, and aid to the troops on time,” particularly in Balkh province.
Afghan government officials were unavailable for comment but in a statement on Tuesday the country’s defense ministry confirmed the bombardment of Taliban positions in Dehdade.
The Taliban’s gains follow an intensification of aerial attacks by US military forces still stationed in the country, including the resumption of B-52 bomber missions from outside Afghanistan to try and disrupt the group’s advances.
Ahead of the total exit of foreign troops by the end of August, American officials said on Monday it was “up to Afghan security forces to defend the country.”
Meanwhile, the US special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, was expected to arrive in Qatar on Tuesday to “press the Taliban to stop their military offensive and negotiate a political settlement,” the US State Department said in a statement.
During the three-day talks, representatives from the government and multilateral organizations would emphasize “a reduction of violence and ceasefire and a commitment not to recognize a government imposed by force,” the statement added.
The decades-old conflict has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people and displaced millions. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Tuesday said it had provided support to health facilities for the treatment of more than 4,000 people wounded in fighting since Aug. 1 alone.
“Hundreds of thousands of civilians are at risk as fighting intensifies. We are seeing homes destroyed, medical staff and patients put at tremendous risk, and hospitals, electricity, and water infrastructure damaged,” the committee said in a statement.