Confused situation in the Panchir valley.
The Taliban announced, Monday, September 6, to have taken complete control of the valley, the last pocket of resistance against them, while the head of American diplomacy is expected in Doha to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.
The isolated and difficult to access Panchir Valley, 80 km north of Kabul, was the last hotbed of armed opposition to the Taliban, who seized power on August 15 after a lightning military campaign and obtained the departure of the last. foreign troops two weeks later.
"With this victory, our country is now completely out of the doldrums of war," main Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.
Long-standing anti-Taliban stronghold, the Panchir, which legendary commander Ahmed Shah Massoud helped make famous in the 1980s and 1990s - before being assassinated by Al-Qaeda in 2001 - is home to the National Resistance Front. (FNR).
The FNR responded to the Taliban by claiming to retain "strategic positions" in the valley.
"The fight against the Taliban and their partners will continue," he added.
Led by Ahmad Massoud, the son of Commander Massoud, the FNR includes local militiamen as well as former members of the Afghan security forces who arrived in Panchir when the rest of Afghanistan fell.
Amrullah Saleh, deputy chairman of the ousted government, also found refuge in the valley.
The Panchir had never fallen into enemy hands, either under Soviet occupation in the 1980s, or under the Taliban's rise to power for the first time a decade later.
Discussions had initially taken place between the Taliban and the FNR, which wants a decentralized system of government to be established.
Both sides said they wanted to avoid the fighting, but ultimately no compromise could be found.
Zabihullah Mujahid promised the inhabitants of Panchir that they were safe from any reprisals.
Reopening of private universities
The FNR had proposed a ceasefire overnight, after apparently suffering heavy losses over the weekend.
He said he had "proposed to the Taliban to cease their military operations in the Panchir and to withdraw their forces. In return, we will ask our troops to refrain from any military action".
On Sunday, the FNR also acknowledged the death of its spokesperson Fahim Dashty, a famous Afghan journalist, and General Abdul Wudod Zara.
On the political level, the composition of the new Taliban executive, initially expected to be unveiled on Friday, is still pending.
>> To see, France 24 in Kabul: "The question of an inclusive government does not even arise for Yousuf Ahmadi"
Analysts believe that the Islamists themselves were taken aback by the speed with which they came to power and did not have time to prepare for the sequel.
Back in power 20 years after being ousted by a coalition led by the United States, the Taliban are expected at the turn by the international community, which has warned that it would judge them by their actions.
The movement founded by Mullah Omar has promised to set up an "inclusive" government.
He also pledged to respect the rights of women, flouted during his first stint in power between 1996 and 2001. But his promises are still struggling to convince.
The country's private universities are due to reopen on Monday.
The Taliban specified in a decree that female students at these institutions would be required to wear a black abaya with a niqab covering their entire face except the eyes.
They also confirmed that education would be delivered to them, as far as possible, in single-sex classes.
With AFP
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