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50 of Afghan's 370 districts under Taliban control: UN
ANI
23 Jun 2021, 08:55 GMT+10
Kabul [Afghanistan], June 23 (ANI): Fifty out of Afghanistan's 370 districts have fallen to Taliban terrorists since May, informed the United Nations' special envoy on Afghanistan Deborah Lyons on Tuesday, as the United States continues its military withdrawal from the country.
"The Taliban recent advances are even more significant and are as a result of an intensified military campaign; more than 50 of Afghanistan's 370 districts have fallen since the beginning of May," Lyons told the UN Security Council (UNSC), reported CNN.
"Most districts that have been taken surround provincial capitals, suggesting that the Taliban are positioning themselves to try and take these capitals once foreign forces are fully withdrawn," she added.
Updated UN urges world to push Afghanistan from battlefield to talks
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N.’s top envoy for Afghanistan urged the international community on Tuesday to do everything possible to push the Taliban and the government from the battlefield back to the negotiating table, warning that “inertia” and the lack of action might lead to more years of bloodshed and conflict.
Deborah Lyons told the U.N. Security Council that she cannot overstate her concern at the current situation, saying every major trend — politics, security, the peace process, the economy, the humanitarian emergency and tackling COVID-19 — is either “negative or stagnant.”
Afghan men prays near the grave of their relatives killed in bombings near Syed Al-Shahada School last month at cemetery on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, June 2, 2021. After the collapse of the Taliban 20 years ago, Afghanistan's ethnic Hazaras began to flourish and soon advanced in various fields, including education and sports, and moved up the ladder of success. They now fear those gains will be lost to chaos and war after the final withdrawal of American and NATO troops from Afghanistan this summer. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul) world
U.N. urges world to push Afghanistan from battlefield to talks
TOLOnews 10pm News 21 June 2021
People in various provinces including Takhar, Balkh and Baghlan in the north, Badghis in the west, and Parwan in central Afghanistan, have taken up arms to fight the Taliban amid an escalation of violence by the group.
Public uprising forces commanders in the provinces said they will stand beside the security forces to retake the lost districts. Some politicians said that it is necessary that people have taken up arms to defend the country under the current circumstances.
President Ashraf Ghani on Monday held a meeting with prominent political leaders, including former mujahideen figures, to discuss the peace process. The meeting comes amid stalled talks and high levels of violence.
Hundreds of Public Forces Deployed to Guard Mazar-e-Sharif
Lawmakers from Balkh province in Afghanistan’s parliament and prominent political figures in Balkh on Tuesday said that hundreds of public uprising forces have been deployed in the main areas of Mazar-e-Sharif city to protect the city from a possible attack by the Taliban.
They said that the Taliban has been pushed back from the main gates of Mazar-e-Sharif, and they pledged that security will be maintained at any cost.
This comes as the Taliban has already taken control of seven districts centers in Balkh. In recent days, insurgents were seen intensifying their attacks in the outskirts of the city of Mazar-e-Sharif.
Taliban Attacks Prove Group Has Not Changed: Ghani Aide
Following repeated attacks by the Taliban in various parts of the country, particularly in the north, President Ghani’s senior adviser Waheed Omer said on Tuesday that the group, with its attacks and “subversive” activities in the last month, has proved that it has not changed at all.
Addressing a gathering to introduce Brig. Gen. Ajmal Omar Shinwari as spokesman for the security and defense forces, Omer said that recent attacks by the Taliban have caused hopes for peace in Afghanistan to vanish.
“Talib is the one who kills journalists, religious scholars. Talib is the one who goes everywhere and destroys bridges, schools and clinics,” Omer said.
Citizens in Various Provinces Take Up Arms to Fight Taliban
People in various provinces including Takhar, Balkh and Baghlan in the north, Badghis in the west, and Parwan in central Afghanistan, have taken up arms to fight the Taliban amid an escalation of violence by the group.
Public uprising forces commanders in the provinces said they will stand beside the security forces to retake the lost districts. Some politicians said that it is necessary that people have taken up arms to defend the country under the current circumstances.
In Takhar, the Taliban has attacked at least 10 districts. Now some residents have taken up arms to support the fight against the Taliban in preparation for potential attacks in Namak Ab, Rustaq and Kalafgan districts in the province.