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Afghan forces, local armed fronts battling Taliban’s advances on major cities

Amin Alemi
Press TV, Kabul

The Taliban have made advances in different part of the country while the Afghan government still insists on a political solution to end the war, blaming the Taliban for insisting on a lose-lose strategy, that is waging more wars.

The Taliban have besieged some major cities in southern and western Afghanistan over the past several days. In some cases, the militants even captured some areas, including parts of Lashkargah, the capital of Helmand province in the south, and the strategic city of Herat in western Afghanistan. However, local armed fronts and government forces have so far put up a stiff resistance against Taliban attacks, saying they are determined to push back the Taliban further.

Herat in western Afghanistan is considered to be one of the five big cities across the nation, and having control over this key city means having control over the entire western Afghanistan. Therefore, the Taliban seem to have put this city on top of the list of targets they want to capture.

On Monday, some 40 Taliban militants were killed by men loyal to Mohammad Islameil Khan, who is a political leader well-known mainly in western Afghanistan.

Ismaeil Khan currently leads the local armed front against Taliban offensives in the western city of Herat. He has assured people that the local front will defend the city in close cooperation with government troops.

The growing war across most parts of Afghanistan has so far prompted tens of thousands of locals to leave their homes while they don’t have much access to humanitarian aid. Most of war-weary Afghans believe the Taliban’s war machine will not be stopped unless the government and people of Afghanistan plus the international community put pressure on the group’s foreign backers, mainly Pakistan, to convince the militants not to turn the streets of Afghanistan into a bloodbath.
 


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