Afghanistan: Taliban seize provincial capital Zaranj near Iran
The city of Zaranj is the first Afghan provincial capital to fall into the hands of the Taliban since the upsurge in clashes sparked by the withdrawal of foreign troops.
AFP - AREF KARIMI
Text by: RFI Follow
5 mins
This Friday, August 6, 2021, the Taliban took control of Zaranj, capital of Nimroz province, in southwestern Afghanistan, very close to Iran.
This conquest is not of strategic importance, on the military level.
It is nonetheless symbolic.
It is the first provincial capital to fall into the hands of the insurgents since the launch of their offensive, coinciding with the launch of the last phase of withdrawal of foreign troops.
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"
Zaranj, provincial capital of Nimroz, has fallen into the hands of the Taliban,
" Roh Gul Khairzad, vice-governor, told Agence France-Presse. The conquest took place "
without a fight,
" she said. "
The city had been threatened for some time, but no member of the central government listened to us
," regrets Ms. Khairzad, confirming a tweet from the insurgents, which earlier announced the capture of strategic buildings in the city, including the headquarters administration, and that of the police.
Without major strategic importance, this loss is nevertheless bad news for the government, which is currently defending a series of provincial capitals against the Taliban, reinforced since the launch of the last stage of the withdrawal, still underway, of the foreign troops of the country, in last May. It is the first Afghan provincial capital to fall into the hands of the Taliban. Videos of insurgents wandering the streets, cheered by the inhabitants, are visible on social networks, without certainty on the veracity of these clips.
Zaranj's fall comes on the same day as a Taliban claim, following the assassination of the head of the central government's media information department.
This week, insurgents warned they would target senior administration officials in retaliation for increased airstrikes.
Indeed, government forces continue to target Taliban positions.
Very recently, the Minister of Defense also escaped an assassination attempt, during a bomb attack.
Iran facing the risk of a new influx of refugees
With the rapid advance of the Taliban, the Iranian neighbor fears a new influx of refugees, relates our correspondent in Tehran,
Siavosh Ghazi
. Videos posted on Islamic Republic news sites and on social media show hundreds of Afghans crossing the border to seek refuge in Iran. We see women, children and men, carrying a simple bag, crossing the border on foot. According to the state television website, Afghan political and military officials have also arrived in Iran.
The Iranian authorities have decided to close the border post with Afghanistan. From now on, all the border posts between the two countries are in the hands of the Taliban. Iran already has more than 2 million Afghans on its soil. But the worsening economic situation in the country is pushing many Afghans to leave for Turkey, before seeking to go to Europe. Zaranj's fall comes while the Afghan president is in Tehran, where he attended the ceremonies marking the assumption of office of the new president Raïssi.
Last element of context, this conquest in the province of Nimroz occurs while a meeting was taking place at the UN Security Council, this Friday in New York.
The United Nations special envoy to Afghanistan questioned the Taliban's commitment to a political settlement of the crisis.
In the eyes of Deborah Lyons, "
a party sincerely engaged in a negotiation would not risk causing so many civilian victims, because it would understand that the more blood is shed, the more difficult the process of reconciliation will be
".
→ Also listen:
In Afghanistan, the former interpreters of foreign armies plunged into concern
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Afghanistan
Iran
Taliban