Although the Taliban advanced rapidly across Afghanistan and safely took over Kabul last week, local forces in the north of the country appear to continue to fight the terrorist movement.
This Friday, photos, videos and reports about the apparent clashes between the Taliban and local resistance have been circulating on social media.
According to reports, anti-Taliban forces have regained control of three areas in Baghlan province: the districts of Banu, Pol-e-Hesar and Deh-e-Salah, while some 60 insurgents were killed or wounded in the fighting.
A Twitter account named after the province of Panjshir, now considered one of the centers of resistance to the Taliban , shared a report in Persian and English on the events that occurred this Friday in the neighboring province of Baghlan.
#Andarab revelation
— Panjshir_Province (@PanjshirProvin1) August 20, 2021
Video from Resistance 0.2 at Pul-e-Hesar district #Baghlan province after taking back back from the #Taliban and fighting is raging in Deh-e-Salah and Banu districts.
It is not over pic.twitter.com/eLiaavQJOw
“Pol-e-Hesar district was taken back from the Taliban and fighting is raging in Deh-e-Salah and Banu districts,” the account posted, adding that “local sources say the Taliban have been attacked from several areas and suffered heavy casualties. ”
Hours later, it emerged that the districts of Banu and Deh-e-Salah were also liberated from the Taliban. It should be noted that there was some confusion on social media about exactly which areas had been captured and if clashes were still taking place.
Breaking news
— Panjshir_Province (@PanjshirProvin1) August 20, 2021
Banu districts is clear from #Taliban #Baghlan Province. #Resistance2 #Afghanishtan pic.twitter.com/9UF4QeVbgp
#Breaking news #Afghanistan flag back to Deh-e-Salah #Baglan province after Huge fight with Taliban. #NoToTaliban pic.twitter.com/Ce728iHKfh
— Panjshir_Province (@PanjshirProvin1) August 20, 2021
Tajuden Soroush, senior correspondent for London-based Persian television channel Iran International, also tweeted about Friday’s events in Baghlan province, citing former Afghan government officials.
BREAKING:
— Tajuden Soroush (@TajudenSoroush) August 20, 2021
An ex, Afgh government officials tell me that local resistances forces in Baghlan province have recaptured Banu and Pol-e-Hesar districts from the Taliban. They are advancing towards the Deh Salah district. About 60 Taliban fighters were killed or injured. pic.twitter.com/OX8CBUTcSO
“A former Afghan government official told me that local resistance forces in Baghlan province have retaken Banu and Pol-e-Hesar districts from the Taliban. They are advancing towards Deh-e-Salah district. 60 Taliban fighters were killed or wounded, “the journalist wrote in his account.
He later added : “The district of Deh-e-Salah also fell into the hands of the local resistance forces.”
Meeting between the Taliban and the resistance
The same day the guerrillas managed to recover several districts, the first meeting between the Taliban and held in Panjshir Ahmad Massoud , one of the leaders of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, reports Republic World .
Ahmad Masud is the son of the national hero Ahmad Shah Masud, who fought Soviet troops in the 1980s and then the Taliban in the 1990s. This Thursday he launched an appeal, urging the country’s population to join his cause to reverse the situation, after the insurgents seized most of the territories.
In a video of his meeting with the Taliban accessed by the outlet, Masud could be heard saying: “If someone on behalf of anyone wanted to attack our homes, our land and our freedom, just like the national hero Ahmad Shah Masud and other mujahideen, we are also ready to lay down our lives and die, but we will not give up our land and our dignity . “