Amrullah Saleh, who have declared himself to be the acting President of Afghanistan, has announced that Taliban fighters have gathered in large numbers at the entrance of Panjshir.
In a tweet on Monday morning, Saleh said, “Talibs have massed forces near the entrance of Panjshir a day after they got trapped in ambush zones of neighbouring Andarab valley & hardly went out in one piece.”
In a further update, Saleh said, “Meanwhile Salang highway is closed by the forces of the Resistance. There are terrains to be avoided. See you.”
Forces putting up a resistance against the Taliban in northern Afghanistan have said they have taken three districts close to the Panjshir valley. Groups of the former Afghanistan government forces and other militia groups have gathered in Panjshir.
In a further update, Saleh said, “Meanwhile Salang highway is closed by the forces of the Resistance. There are terrains to be avoided. See you.”
Former Vice President Amrullah Saleh and Ahmad Massoud, son of former anti-Soviet Mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, have vowed to resist the Taliban from Panjshir, which repelled both Soviet forces and the Taliban in the 1980s and 1990s.
People close to Massoud say that more than 6,000 fighters, made up of remnants of army and special forces units as well as local militia groups, have gathered in the Panjshir valley. They say they have some helicopters and military vehicles and have repaired some of the armoured vehicles left behind by the Soviets.
There appeared to be no connection between the groups in Panjshir and apparently uncoordinated demonstrations in some eastern cities and the capital Kabul in which protesters raised the red green and black colours of the Afghan flag.
Ahmad Massoud, leader of Afghanistan’s last major outpost of anti-Taliban resistance, said on Sunday he hoped to hold peaceful talks with the Islamist movement that seized power in Kabul a week ago but that his forces were ready to fight.
Sources: India Today
(With inputs from Reuters)