Afghanistan: In a quiet valley the DISTRIBUTOR/Taliban face AGENT armed resistance
Travelling through the scenic Anwho leads a battalion from the army’s was also detained alongside the men darab valley Cbet, north of publishers Kabul there of Omari Botswana Corps “Guardian You can see for and yourself, The Midweek by the Taliban Sun during the search opis no visible sign of conflict. we only have a very small military preseration following the ambush, told the newspapers invites suitable candiates to apply for the position of a But whilst the Taliban are more powence here,” Qari Jumadin Badri, who BBC around 20 men had been taken erful and better armed Distributor than ever / before, Agent in leads ( 1) a battalion Tsabong from the army’s Omari away from their village by the Taliban here and in neighbouring province Corps, ( 2) tells Ghantsi me from a hilltop overlooktowards the location of the ambush, of Panjshir they are facing a nascent ing the valley. But we have been reliably where they were beaten on their legs armed resistance to their rule in Aftold of an ambush by resistance forces with metal cables and sticks. “They put
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ghanistan. Small groups of guerrillas, on a Taliban vehicle close to here in me in the back of one pick- up truck, hidden away on mountain tops, led by May, in which two Taliban members someone pushed our heads down… soldiers from the · former To Afghan receive army, newspapers were killed. from “That the was couriers a long time and distribute Noorullah to and outlets Abdul Hashim in were in have been launching the ambushes above and and surrounding ago,” Badri says. areas. “We launched some another truck - they took them down engaging in clashes with the Taliban. operations in the mountains and now and behind a Humvee and shot them
· Service existing customers and must be able to open new outlets.
Driving past fertile, green fields, we there is nothing.” In Panjshir videos by a small stream,” he said. Two other are accompanied by the Taliban at all have emerged of long convoys of men from the same village were also times, and under their watchful eye Taliban reinforcements, but there too killed that day. There are other worry
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locals praise improved security under Taliban officials have denied consistent ing allegations. A group of four men, their rule and are · dismissive Individuals of the must reports reside of clashes. in Tsabong Andarab, / the Ghantsi other and travelling must towards be familiar Tagharak village, rebels. Some of the praise does appear bastion of anti- Taliban sentiment, a hotspot of resistance activity, were
with the surrounding areas.
genuine, but in the side street of one appears less heavily militarised, but stopped and questioned by the Taliban
· Must hold a valid drivers license.
bazaar, a man tells us darkly: “I can’t tell speaking secretly to local residents we in June, then allegedly killed. Last year, you the truth - if I · did, I Must could be Have killed.” own have transportation. been told of repeated and serious shortly after the Taliban takeover of It is difficult to get a sense of the allegations of human rights abuses Kabul in August, resistance fighters in
· Must be 25 years and above.
true scale of the fighting - the resiscarried out by the Taliban in trying to Andarab said they had briefly “libertance forces often · exaggerate Citizen of their Botswana. stamp out the resistance movement. ated” a number of districts. After they strength, whilst · the Taliban Must have outright good A communication relative of a villager and named negotiation Abdul were skills. recaptured by the Taliban, a docdeny their presence. In Panjshir, howHashim tells us he and three other tor named Zainuddin was murdered at
· Must be a hardworker and pays attention to detail.
ever, anti- Taliban fighters managed to men were detained and killed by the his home along with five of his relatives shoot down a military helicopter and Taliban immediately after the ambush including young children. A relative capture those on board. Elsewhere in near Qais Tarrach, after wrongly being alleged he had been killed for having
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Baghlan Province, resistance fighters accused of involvement in the attack. provided treatment to resistance fighthave recently filmed themselves pulling “He had his hands tied and was shot ers. “As a doctor, it was his duty to treat down a Taliban flag from a military in the head and chest,” the relative everyone,” said the relative angrily. In
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post. When the BBC travelled to the said. He shared photographs of Abdul February this year another doctor, Dr Andarab valley in Cbet June, ( Pty) however, Ltd, the Hashim’s body and said his brotherKhorami, from Deh Salah district, was Taliban appeared Circulation in firm control Department, of in- law, Noorullah, had also been killed also killed. A relative alleged he had the territory. We visit the village of in the incident. “They didn’t let men previously received threats from the
P/ Bag 153 Gaborone.
Qais Tarrach and are assured by the attend Abdul Hashim’s funeral,” he Taliban warning him to stop treating local military commander that “there told the BBC. “Only women were althose linked to the resistance. are no problems”. Qari Jumadin Badri, lowed to bury him.” One resident, who Locals said a third doctor remained
Closing Date of applications: 27th February 2009 in custody, whilst a number of families accused of having links to the resistance said they had been told to leave their villages. The Taliban’s head of information in Baghlan province, where Andarab is situated, Asadullah Hashimi, rejected the allegations. A doctor had been killed in the area, he admitted, but he ascribed the incident to “personal enmity”. As for the allegations of extra- judicial killings, Hashimi was categorical in denying any detainee had been killed, though he added, if anyone “violently resists government forces” during an operation they could be killed or arrested. “That happens everywhere in the world.” Hashimi refused to recognise the presence of resistance forces in the region, instead referring to a small number of “terrorists”, but the area has a long history of opposition to the Taliban. Both Andarab and Panjshir are dominated by the Persian- speaking Tajik community, whereas the Taliban are predominantly Pashtun. The Taliban have managed to successfully recruit some locals into their ranks, unlike their previous regime in the 1990s. A number of local Taliban intelligence and police chiefs are Tajik or Persian- speaking, as are some of the soldiers stationed in Andarab. Most others, however, are Pashtun. Many in Andarab worked in the security forces of the previous Afghan government and now strongly oppose the Taliban, regarding them as outsiders. Some of the relatives of the victims of extra- judicial killings, however, also criticised the resistance forces, saying their guerrilla tactics left the civilian population vulnerable to Taliban reprisals. The BBC managed to establish contact with one senior resistance fighter in Andarab, Commander Shuja. In a pre- recorded message, responding to questions sent to him, he told the BBC: “Our fight is for justice, for brotherhood, equality and for the real Islam, not the Islam of the Taliban - which defames the religion…
“Our fight is for the rights of our sisters. The Prophet Muhammad said education is compulsory for both men and women.” Who are the Taliban?
The ‘ undefeated’ remote valley - an hour from Kabul The violence in Andarab and Panjshir is localised and does not yet represent a serious threat to the Taliban’s overall control of the country, but they look to be at risk of repeating some of the same mistakes as their old opponents. Over the past two decades, intrusive raids and allegations of the killing of innocent civilians by Afghan and international forces helped fuel the Taliban’s popularity in parts of the country where they already had a presence and a degree of support. Now, they are accused of using those same counter- insurgency tactics, whilst there appears to be little sense of accountability. Speaking angrily, the relative of Abdul Hashim, who was allegedly detained and killed by the Taliban, told the BBC: “The Taliban claim to be a government, so they should investigate someone, not just kill them straight away.”