Overstretched Afghan forces are pulling back from violent southern districts without a fight, ceding key territory to the resurgent Taliban as part of an unprecedented “strategic retreat” that has stoked fears Afghan government control is slipping.
Beset by record casualties, desertions and troop shortages, Afghan troops have abandoned outposts in parts of central Uruzgan province, extending a withdrawal that began last month.
They have already pulled out of Musa Qala and Nowzad districts in neighboring Helmand, bastions that foreign troops struggled for years to defend as the opium-rich region teeters on the brink of collapse.
The retreat has triggered fevered speculation about possible government backroom deals with the Taliban at a time when international efforts are growing to bring the insurgents to the negotiating table.
“Once you start pulling out troops and surrendering hard-won territory, you are basically admitting that the Taliban have won,” said Mohammad Ismail, a tribal elder from Musa Qala who fled the area after government troops pulled out. “This is a betrayal to all those who have sacrificed their lives to defend these areas over 15 years.”
The withdrawal, which comes as Afghan forces struggle to fight off the increasingly bloody insurgency, has sparked concerns that the government is fast losing control of volatile Helmland.
The Taliban effectively control or contest at least 10 of the 14 districts in Afghanistan’s biggest center for opium production, a lucrative source of insurgent funding that makes the province a hotly contested area.
Afghan commanders dismiss claims of any Taliban deal, describing the withdrawals as a “tactical” maneuver aimed at consolidating forces from isolated, hard-to-defend areas.
In related news, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said the Islamic State group has been defeated in eastern Afghanistan, where it had taken over some remote districts.
Speaking at the opening of parliament yesterday, Ghani said Afghan forces had dislodged Islamic State loyalists from regions of Nangarhar province bordering Pakistan.
He said Afghanistan would be a “graveyard” for the militant group.
The Islamic State has had a presence in Afghanistan for more than a year.
Officials have said most militants calling themselves Islamic State are disaffected Taliban fighters.
Afghan forces have claimed victory following a 21-day operation in the Achin and Shinwar districts of Nangarhar, claiming at least 200 militants were killed.
A suicide bomber yesterday rammed his explosives-laden fuel truck into a security checkpoint south of Baghdad, killing at least 31 people and wounding dozens, officials said, the latest episode in an uptick in violence in the war-ravaged country.
Among the dead were 24 civilians, while the rest were security personnel. The attacker struck shortly after noon, when the checkpoint at one of the entrances to the city of Hillah was crowded with dozens of cars, a police officer said.
Up to 55 other people were wounded and more than 20 cars were damaged, he said.
A medical official confirmed the causality figures. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to release information.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which bore the hallmarks of the Islamic State group.
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
‘DANGEROUS GAME’: Legislative Yuan budget cuts have already become a point of discussion for Democrats and Republicans in Washington, Elbridge Colby said Taiwan’s fall to China “would be a disaster for American interests” and Taipei must raise defense spending to deter Beijing, US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead Pentagon policy, Elbridge Colby, said on Tuesday during his US Senate confirmation hearing. The nominee for US undersecretary of defense for policy told the Armed Services Committee that Washington needs to motivate Taiwan to avoid a conflict with China and that he is “profoundly disturbed” about its perceived reluctance to raise defense spending closer to 10 percent of GDP. Colby, a China hawk who also served in the Pentagon in Trump’s first team,
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
INVESTMENT WATCH: The US activity would not affect the firm’s investment in Taiwan, where 11 production lines would likely be completed this year, C.C. Wei said Investments by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in the US should not be a cause for concern, but rather seen as the moment that the company and Taiwan stepped into the global spotlight, President William Lai (賴清德) told a news conference at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday alongside TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家). Wei and US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday announced plans to invest US$100 billion in the US to build three advanced foundries, two packaging plants, and a research and development center, after Trump threatened to slap tariffs on chips made
RSS