For Ashraf Ghani, president of an Afghanistan which is losing its footing militarily against the Taliban, the culprit is all found. “The current situation is due to the sudden American decision” to permanently withdraw the troops from the country.
Before Afghan parliamentarians in Kabul, Mr. Ghani also accused Washington of pushing for “The destruction of the Republic” and at the “Legitimation” Taliban by negotiating directly with them. These talks resulted in an agreement in 2020 providing for the departure of foreign troops from Afghanistan.
More than a year and a half later, the Taliban conquered vast rural territories all over Afghanistan, in an offensive launched precisely in favor of the final withdrawal of international forces from the country, especially the Americans, on July 4, and Germans, June 29. Supposed to be completed by August 31, the operation to withdraw foreign forces, present for twenty years in the country, is now almost complete.
The capital of the province of Helmand threatens to tip over
The Afghan forces have so far offered little resistance and, for the most part, now only control the main roads and the provincial capitals, some of which are surrounded by Islamist insurgents. This is the case of Kandahar and Herat, the second and third largest cities in the country in terms of population, but especially in Lashkar Gah, the capital of 200,000 people in Helmand province.
Street fights between the Afghan army and the Taliban troops, of which it is one of the epicenters of influence, have been taking place there for several days. Kabul announced on Monday the deployment of hundreds of members of special forces units in the battle that could result in the fall of the first provincial capital to the hands of the Taliban.
This defeat would have a disastrous strategic and psychological impact on the Afghan government and its army, whose morale is already seriously damaged by the inexorable advance of the Taliban. In his speech, Ashraf Ghani assured to have prepared a six-month plan to stem this advance but gave no details.
US to welcome thousands more Afghan refugees
The United States, already in a race against time to evacuate thousands of Afghan interpreters who worked for the US military before its withdrawal from Afghanistan, announced on Monday that it would welcome thousands of additional Afghan refugees in because of the renewed conflict.
“In light of the rise in violence from the Taliban, the US government is working to provide some Afghans, including those who have worked with the United States, the opportunity to benefit from refugee relocation programs in the United States. United States “the US State Department said in a statement.