The Taliban managed to take two new Afghan provincial capitals on Tuesday, Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesperson for the movement, confirmed on Twitter.

Both are part of Baghlan province, north of Kabul.

These are Farah in the west and Pul-e Khumri in the north.

The fast-paced Taliban now control eight of Afghanistan's 34 provincial capitals, including six of nine in the north of the country, with fighting ongoing in the other three.

"The Taliban are now in the city, they hoisted their flag in the central square and at the governor's office," said Mamoor Ahmadzai, an MP from Baghlan province.

After two hours of fighting, the security forces withdrew Tuesday evening to a base outside the city, he said.

"The Taliban set parts of the city on fire, including two restaurants," said an officer, who fought insurgents in Baghlan on Sunday.

The northern region almost entirely in Taliban hands

“This afternoon (Tuesday), the Taliban entered the town of Farah after briefly fighting security forces.

They took over the governor's office and the police headquarters.

The security forces have withdrawn to an army base, ”said Shahla Abubar, a provincial councilor.

Since Friday, the Taliban have taken control of Zaranj (southwest), Sheberghan (north), stronghold of famous warlord Abdul Rashid Dostom, Kunduz, the large city in the northeast, as well as three other capitals. northern, Taloqan, Sar-e-Pul and Aibak.

They also continued to tighten their grip around Mazar-i-Sharif, the largest city in the north.

If this were to fall in turn, the government would no longer have any control over the whole of this region, which is traditionally fiercely opposed to the Taliban.

The deadlocked peace process

As fighting rages in the north, but also in the south around Kandahar and Lashkar Gah, two historic insurgent strongholds, Doha hosted an international meeting on Tuesday, with representatives from Qatar, the United States, China. , United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, United Nations and European Union. The peace process between the Afghan government and the Taliban opened last September in Qatar, as part of the peace agreement concluded in February 2020 between the insurgents and Washington providing for the total departure of foreign troops from Afghanistan. This withdrawal must be completed by August 31.

But talks have stalled and the Taliban launched an offensive in May, when this final withdrawal began.

After seizing large rural areas without encountering much resistance, they have turned since early August to urban centers.

Although hopes are slim that the talks will lead to a concrete result, the American envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, was to urge the Taliban "to cease their military offensive and to negotiate a political agreement".

Tens of thousands of fleeing civilians

But President Joe Biden's administration has no intention of changing lines. She will maintain her support for Kabul, but it is up to the Afghans to take their destiny into their own hands. “It is their country that we have to defend. It is their fight, underlined Monday the spokesman of the Pentagon, John Kirby. The violence has prompted tens of thousands of civilians to flee their homes across the country, with the Taliban accused of numerous atrocities in places just under their control.

“They beat and loot,” said Rahima, a woman who camps with hundreds of people in a park in Kabul after fleeing Sheberghan province.

“If there is a young girl or a widow in a family, they take them by force.

We fled to protect our honor, ”she added.

Some 359,000 people have been displaced in Afghanistan as a result of the fighting since the start of the year, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

183 civilians killed

Calm had returned to central Kunduz on Tuesday, residents said.

However, the clashes continued around the airport which remained in the hands of government forces.

“People are opening their stores and their businesses.

But you can still see the fear in their eyes (…) the fighting can resume in town at any time, ”said Habibullah, a trader.

At least 183 civilians were killed and 1,181 injured, including children, in a month in the cities of Lashkar Gah, Kandahar, Herat (west) and Kunduz, the UN said on Tuesday, specifying that it was not acted there only victims who could be documented.

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