The complete collapse of the Afghan army threatens: Soldiers flee in fear of the Taliban

In northern Afghanistan, the Taliban once again scored a major victory in recent days. The jihadists captured six border regions, and again they did not have to fight for them. More than 1,000 Afghan soldiers ran across the Tajik border when confronted by Taliban fighters. Dozens of other soldiers surrendered voluntarily and were later captured.

Tajik border guards said the soldiers were fleeing “to save their lives”. They are currently housed near the border. They come on top of hundreds of other deserters who have been in the neighboring Central Asian country since May, and large groups of Afghans are expected to follow suit in the near future. Tajikistan is considering building tent camps for Afghan refugees and is also considering granting asylum to Afghans who have cooperated with the Americans. It is said that the United States asked Tajikistan to do so.

Afghan National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib told RIA news agency on Monday he was “surprised” by the attack in the north, but vowed that the army would soon launch a “counter-attack” to reverse the Taliban’s victories. Question: How and with whom?

morally lower than ever

The Taliban is on the rise not only along the northern border, but across the country. They control about a third of the 421 counties and are growing every day. The Afghan armed forces are nowhere under Taliban control, and the decision to send troops to the north means that armies in other parts of the country will be more vulnerable to attack than they already are. In addition, the morale of the Afghan army is lower than ever. This is further undermined by the daily images of soldiers leaving their posts and surrendering with arms and all.

On Monday, the Taliban renewed their demand that all foreign forces leave before September 11. In an interview with the BBC, Taliban spokesman Sohail Shaheen said all military personnel should leave Afghanistan, even if they wanted to stay to protect the US embassy in Kabul, for example.

The United States and the Taliban previously signed an agreement requiring all U.S. military personnel to leave the country. In return, the Taliban will leave the Americans alone. The Taliban warn the United States to abide by the agreement, otherwise the “leadership” will take appropriate measures. Shaheen assured the Americans that their diplomats would be safe under Taliban rule. But the question is whether the Americans would dare put the fate of their diplomats in the hands of the same group they have been fighting for decades.