Taliban forces and fighters loyal to local leader Ahmed Masoud clashed in northern Afghanistan's Panjshir province on Thursday, while Russia expressed hope that the confrontations would be ended through peaceful negotiations.

Each side said that it had inflicted heavy losses on the other side.

It was not possible to confirm the statements of the two sides because the Internet and telephone communications were suspended in the Panjshir Valley.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that the movement's fighters entered Panjshir after the failure of negotiations with the local armed group and "inflicted heavy losses on the enemy."

Zabihullah Mujahid added - in statements to Radio Azadi International - that the movement's fighters made progress and took control of major checkpoints in the "Jabal Siraj" area in the Wilayat of Parwan, north of Kabul, as well as the "Khawak" area, near the Panjshir Valley.

On the other hand, Fahim Dashti, a spokesman for the Afghan National Resistance Front, said that the Afghan National Resistance Front fully controls all passages and entrances, and that it has repelled attempts to control the "Shotal" area at the entrance to the valley.

The spokesman added that the forces of the Front have killed large numbers of Taliban fighters on two fronts since the clashes broke out for the first time earlier this week.

"The Taliban did not enter a kilometer into the Panjshir Valley," Dashti said.


Russian hopes

In turn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed - today, Thursday - his country's hope that the confrontations between the Taliban movement and the forces of the Panjshir province in northern Afghanistan would be ended through peaceful negotiations.

In response to a question about whether Russia can play the role of mediator between the conflicting Afghan parties, Lavrov said - at a press conference - that "we have no such intention."

He added that Russia has long called on the Taliban and other political and ethnic groups in Afghanistan to reach an agreement on forming an inclusive transitional government.

"All parties are interested in the Taliban and other political and ethnic figures in Afghanistan reaching an agreement," he said, noting that "similar signals are also coming from Western countries, China, and Central Asian countries."

The breakdown of negotiations

A source in the Taliban movement told Al-Jazeera - earlier - that the movement decided to launch a large-scale military operation in the state of Panjshir after the failure of negotiations with the leader of the so-called national resistance, Ahmed Masoud.

According to the source, Masoud presented conditions that the Taliban considers illogical.

These conditions are that the Taliban will not withdraw weapons and military equipment from its forces, that the popular uprising be given a 30% share of the composition of the next government, and that all officials are appointed with the approval of the “uprising,” and those who want to visit the state of Panjshir are not subject to monitoring and tracking.

The Taliban had previously announced that hundreds of its fighters had gone to the province to control it after local provincial officials refused to hand it over peacefully.

Ahmed Shah Massoud's son had previously said he hoped to hold peace talks with the movement that took control of Kabul, but stressed that his forces were ready to fight.

Massoud stressed that his supporters are ready to fight if the Taliban tries to invade their territory, adding, "They want to defend, to fight, they want to resist any totalitarian regime."

He was joined by Ahmed Masoud, former Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who considers himself the legitimate president of Afghanistan after President Ashraf Ghani resigned and left the country.

Thousands of soldiers from the Afghan army, which collapsed after the withdrawal of US forces and the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, joined Massoud's alliance.