In Afghanistan, popular mobilization against the Taliban
Audio 02:30
The widespread Taliban assault saw insurgents seize major border posts, dozens of districts and surround several provincial capitals.
FARSHAD USYAN AFP
By: Sonia Ghezali Follow
6 mins
The Taliban are riding an irresistible wave in Afghanistan, bringing down district after district.
To date, they control more than half of the territory.
As of August 31, no more foreign troops will be present in the country.
Afghanistan appears to be on the verge of chaos and the fear of civil war breaking out is growing day by day.
Faced with the routed security forces, the population took up arms in several provinces, supporting the Afghan army and police in their fight against the Taliban, sometimes even fighting alone against the expansion of religious fundamentalists.
Publicity
Fighting rages across Afghanistan.
The Taliban have stepped up their offensives against government forces since last May, when foreign troops began their final withdrawal from the country.
Faced with the rout of the Afghan forces, thousands of Afghans voluntarily took up arms to fight the Taliban.
“When the magazine is empty, you pull the lock like that. You remove the magazine and see if there are any bullets stuck inside. There is none. If your magazine is empty, then you can refill it ”
.
In the north of Kabul, a self-defense militia has been set up for several weeks.
Yasin, in his forties, a driver for a non-governmental organization has been assigned to lead the men in the neighborhood into combat.
Every day he meets new recruits.
" Do you understand ? This is our promise. We will be ready as soon as the government and the security forces ask to fight alongside them, and we will not let them down. We are ready to defend ourselves, to defend our honor, our land and our nation, ”he
says.
Ali is only 16 years old, but he says he is ready to take up arms.
He listens attentively to Yasin, who spent three years in the army, some thirty years ago.
"Will the old battle stations be activated?" "
“We want to activate these checkpoints that were set up during the civil war and during the time of the Russian invasion. We will deploy people to all positions, people who are well trained of course. And we will train them all so as not to have any problems during the fights. We will show you how to use weapons, we will explain everything to you. "
The Taliban are present in the outskirts of Kabul.
Many fear that they will attempt to seize power by force once the foreign troops leave definitively on August 31.
Yasin refuses that his country is ruled by religious fundamentalists who sowed terror when they held power between 1996 and 2001, before the intervention of an international coalition led by the United States.
“Anyone can fight against them, whether young or old, whether it is a woman or a man. These people just have to be ready to defend their country against these foreigners. We will train them. They will be given weapons and ammunition. We will give them legal weapons, but not illegal weapons. All these weapons are registered with the security forces. "
Through his connections in the security forces, he hopes to be able to obtain weapons from the government for distribution to his neighbors.
Several voices are nevertheless raised in the country to express the fear of seeing these self-defense militias become new components of the Afghan conflict.
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Afghanistan
Taliban