Over 1,000 Afghan troops flee to Tajikistan to ‘save lives’ after clashes with Taliban. 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. The official statement troops reads 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.
The uptick in violence comes as
the US, UK and allies withdraw forces from Afghanistan after nearly two
decades. 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.
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. In response to the crossing over of the Afghan soldiers into Tajikistan, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon ordered the mobilization of 20,000 reserve troops to the border. The Taliban has ceased attacks on western forces but continues to target Afghan government and security installations as it makes rapid territorial gains across the country. Peace talks between the two sides remain inconclusive.
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