War Is Boring/Bloomberg: Civilians take up arms alongside Afghan army as Taliban besiege key city with US set to exit
Civilians in Afghanistan have taken up arms to push back against the Taliban as the militants fight for control of a crucial northern city and make deeper territorial inroads with the U.S. set to withdraw all troops by September.
The insurgents are battling to take control of strategic cities in the country’s north, including its regional hub Mazar-e-Sharif, after capturing dozens of districts over the last two months. Local warlords and civilians have joined Afghan troops to push back the advance.
“Thousands of Afghan forces and armed civilians are prepared to defend the city of Mazar-e-Sharif, its outskirts and the districts that have been lost,” according to Mohammad Farhad Azimi, the governor of Balkh province, whose provincial capital is Mazar-e-Sharif.
Afghan soldiers recaptured two districts in Balkh and the nearby Baghlan province during a fierce overnight battle that left 80 Taliban fighters dead, the country’s defense ministry said on Tuesday in a WhatsApp message.
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WNU Editor: I am sensing the same thing .... Taliban Gain Confidence, Extend Reach in Afghanistan (VOA).
Update: This is a sobering indication on how much the Taliban have advanced in the past 6 weeks .... 50 of Afghanistan's 370 districts have fallen to Taliban since May: UN envoy (CNN).
Afghanistan War News Updates -- July 23, 2021
Kunduz province in danger of falling to the Taliban -- Long War Journal
Taliban take key Afghan district, adding to string of gains -- Euronews
Taliban insurgents take key Afghan district amid US troop withdrawal -- France 24
Taliban launch major offensives in northern Afghanistan -- Reuters
Taliban captures Afghanistan’s main Tajikistan border crossing -- Al Jazeera
UN Afghan envoy Deborah Lyons alarmed at Taliban gains -- BBC
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