More than 1,000 Afghan troops flee into Tajikistan

The Taliban have overrun dozens of districts

KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — More than 1,000 Afghan troops fled into neighboring Tajikistan on Monday following clashes with the Taliban, as the insurgents gained momentum on the battlefield.

The exodus of troops followed another weekend of fighting across much of the northern countryside where the Taliban have overrun dozens of districts, spurring fears that Afghan forces are in crisis.

As Tajikistan rushed its own troops to “strengthen” the border, Moscow said it had temporarily closed one of its consulates in Afghanistan’s north as the security situation deteriorates.

The Afghan soldiers “did not want to surrender. They had asked for reinforcements but their call was ignored,” said Abdul Basir, a soldier

based with a battalion in Badakhshan province that had members flee over the border.

Tajikistan’s national security committee said that 1,037 Afghan government troops had fled into the ex-Soviet country “to save their lives” after clashes with the Taliban during the night.

“Taking into account the principle of good neighborliness and adhering to the position of non-interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan, the military personnel of the Afghan government forces were allowed to enter Tajik territory,” said the statement, published by Tajikistan’s state information agency.

Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon has ordered “the mobilization of 20,000 reserve troops to further strengthen the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan,” a statement from the presidency said later Monday.