Residents of a district in northern Afghanistan clashed with Taliban members on Friday after a Taliban-linked company moved into a residential area to begin gold mining operations, local sources told Afghanistan International.
The incident took place in Chah Ab district of Takhar province, where Taliban forces and personnel connected to a gold mining company entered the area to launch an extraction operation. Several people on both sides were injured, according to the sources.
A video obtained by Afghanistan International shows residents throwing stones at Taliban members, while gunfire can be heard in the background. The footage also shows local residents fleeing the area after shots were fired. Heavy machinery belonging to the mining company is visible at the site.
Witnesses said the operation was intended to extract gold from the area, a move opposed by local residents. Tensions escalated when unidentified individuals who had recently arrived in the village for gold exploration opened fire to disperse the crowd, wounding at least one person.
Residents responded by hurling stones at the company’s vehicles, the sources said.
The Taliban have, over the past four years, placed increased emphasis on mining activities across several provinces as a key source of revenue.
Critics and local residents have repeatedly raised concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding mineral extraction under Taliban rule, including how contracts are awarded and how revenues from Afghanistan’s natural resources are used.
