Mazar-e-Sharif – After Badakhshan, a popular uprising has also begun in Farah and Takhar provinces in northern Afghanistan against the Pashtun Taliban’s seizure of gold mines in Kandahar and Helmand.
At least 4 people were confirmed dead and 11 injured in fighting on Friday over a dispute over the Pashtun Kandahari Taliban’s attempt to seize gold mines in Takhar.
The situation in Badakhshan is also tense in response to the Kandaharis’ attempt to seize gold mines, and the situation in Yaftal and Shahr-e-Buzurg provinces of Badakhshan is in a state of extreme tension.
Analyst says war can break out at any time; at least 25 people were killed in clashes over the same dispute in October in these two districts.
Violence Erupts After Friday Prayers
The battle for control and resistance that began in Badakhshan has now reached Takhar. On Friday, there were fierce clashes between residents and the Taliban’s Pashtun faction that came to take over.
According to our source in the Taliban, at least 4 people were killed, and 11 were injured in the clashes. The fighting began after Friday prayers.
Residents, including non-Pashtun local officials of the Taliban, protested against the occupation of these gold mines, and at this time, the Taliban’s Pashtun group that had come to take over opened fire on them.
In response, the local population also came out of their homes armed, seized machinery, and forced the Pashtun group to retreat.
Later, on the night between Friday and Saturday, the Pashtun forces attacked again and took control of the mine.
A Growing Rebellion in Badakhshan
According to the source, the situation has also become tense in Badakhshan, where local youth in the city of Buzurg and Yaftal districts have organized themselves under the leadership of Commander Abdul Rahman Ammar and declared a rebellion against the Taliban regime.
According to sources, Qari Mahboobullah Kashf, a close associate of the governor’s secretary Shafiq in Badakhshan and a close associate of the district head Maulvi Amanuddin, has forcibly seized six gold mines from local landowners in the “Dawang” area, while more than 10 other mines in the same district have already been occupied.
On the other hand, people affiliated with the Taliban governor in Farah province have also continued to occupy several gold mines. Here, the governor’s operatives named Bismillah Mistry and Mahmood are seen at the forefront of looting and occupation.
The Taliban district governor of Badakhshan’s Jarm district, Maulvi Ghiyas, who is a resident of Yaftal district, has also forcibly taken over several projects and is continuing mining activities.
Following the resistance and clashes of local non-Pashtun Taliban against the seizure of gold mines by Pashtun Taliban from Kandahar and Helmand in Badakhshan from October 12 to 27, Commander Haseeb Omar in Yaftal district and Aleemuddin Fitrat in Shahr-e-Buzurg, led by the deposed non-Pashtun Taliban commander Abdul Rehman Ammar, declared a rebellion against the Taliban government on October 28.
A large number of non-Pashtun Taliban and ordinary Persian-speaking youth are also joining them.
