At least four people were killed during clashes between local residents and a Taliban-linked gold mining company in northern Takhar province, local sources said on Monday.
Three residents of the Samti area in Chah Ab district were killed in the fighting, the sources said. One guard working for the Taliban-affiliated mining company was also killed. At least five other people were wounded.
According to the sources, residents captured two guards employed by the company and stormed the compound of a Taliban-linked firm in the Dara-e-Fazel area. Protesters also seized buildings belonging to two Taliban-affiliated companies, forcing company staff to flee the area.
Information obtained by Afghanistan International indicates that residents have longstanding grievances against the mining firms. The companies are reportedly operating under contracts linked to Bashar Noorzai, a convicted drug trafficker widely regarded as one of the Taliban’s key financial backers.
Local residents said they are protesting environmental damage and water shortages caused by what they described as the companies’ “unrestrained” gold extraction activities.
The clashes follow similar unrest on Friday, when residents of Chah Ab district confronted Taliban members who had entered residential areas to begin gold mining operations.
The Taliban have placed growing emphasis on mining as a source of revenue since returning to power, but critics say the sector lacks transparency and has fuelled local tensions in several provinces, including Takhar.
