How did the Taliban exploit the phenomenon of climate change to control Afghanistan?

Disasters caused by climate change have increased the vulnerability of the population in Afghanistan, which made it easier for the Taliban to take control of the country, according to the French newspaper Liberation.

In a report by its author, Margot Lacroix, the newspaper said that the rate of global warming in Afghanistan has reached more than twice the global average to three times in some areas of the country, as drought devastated large lands and increased food insecurity in the country.

The writer pointed out that climate change in Afghanistan is a threat multiplier, depleting resources and further weakening the population, noting that the Taliban took advantage of this situation to consolidate their power to control the country, including Kabul.

He added that the years of famine have steadily increased, and that crops have been reduced or even eliminated due to the exacerbation of extreme phenomena, such as droughts and floods.

This is at a time when more than half of the Afghan population earns their income from agriculture, and the Taliban - according to the author - took advantage of this fragility and succeeded in recruiting peasants who were often abandoned by the existing authority.

More than half of Afghanistan's population earns income from agriculture (Reuters)

According to Kamal Alam, an expert at the American think tank "Atlantic Council", citing the "CBS" network, the Taliban pays its fighters from 5 to 10 dollars a day, which is a more than tempting reward for the country's farmers, who earn on average. Less than one dollar a day.

And the Taliban - according to the writer - used the lack of water to control the cities, as is the case in many conflicts, the blue gold has become a great means of pressure in the country.

In Herat, a strategic town in the west, the Taliban repeatedly attacked a dam essential to the people of the region for drinking water, agriculture and electricity, as they did the same in the southern province of Kandahar, and one of their most important victories was the control of a dam that provided drinking water and irrigation, according to the newspaper The New York Times, USA.

Now that the Taliban are in power, the New York Times believes that climate change may backfire, with analysts saying that water management will be necessary to legitimize the Taliban in the eyes of Afghan citizens, and that is also likely to be one of the most important issues in the Taliban's dealings. with Afghanistan's neighbors.