Taliban controls more than half of Afghanistan’s districts

THE militant Taliban have recently made significant territorial gains in Afghanistan and are now controlling more than 210 districts, a dpa survey conducted mid-July reveals.

This means that the Taliban hold a little more than 0 per cent of the approximately

00 districts in 3 provinces of the country, the survey found.

The government’s full control has shrunk to around 110 districts across the country, dpa correspondents found during the survey.

Further, around 80 districts are contested between the two sides.

Much of the Taliban’s gains have occurred since May when international troops officially started their withdrawal.

Only a very few provinces have so far been affected by the recent Taliban advances. One of them is Panjshir, the north-eastern province and birthplace of the famous anti-Taliban commander Ahmad Shah Masoud.

Following Panjshir, the central Bamyan province this year briefly lost two districts to the Taliban after enjoying years of peace. The economically deprived province has been so peaceful, that over the years it had become the tourist hot spot and welcomed tens of thousands of Afghans and hundreds of foreigners as tourists each year.

One obvious focus of the Taliban has been the north of the country, where in the past the resistance to their rule from 1996 to 2001 was strongest. The Taliban has also recently been making gains in their traditional birthplace of southern andahar province.