Flash Floods Kill At Least 20 In Nuristan, Says Taliban

The Taliban Defence Ministry said on Monday that Noor Rahman Nusrat, the army’s director of military operations, met Tajik Ambassador Saadi Sharifi to discuss border issues.

In a statement issued on Monday, 20 July, the ministry said the two sides emphasised relations based on goodwill and stronger bilateral cooperation.

The statement gave no further details about the discussions.

The meeting came a day after unidentified gunmen attacked a Taliban border battalion in Khwahan district of Badakhshan early on Sunday, 19 July.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Taliban forces detained several local residents in connection with the incident.

The Taliban border battalion was reportedly targeted at about 2am with rockets and several types of weapons.

Khwahan is a district in north-eastern Badakhshan province, located along the Panj River and sharing a border with Tajikistan.

Taliban Focuses on Controlling Badakhshan

The Taliban has recently intensified efforts to suppress unrest and strengthen control in Badakhshan.

In recent weeks, senior Taliban security officials, including Defence Minister Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, army chief Fasihuddin Fitrat and intelligence chief Abdul Haq Wasiq, have travelled to Badakhshan amid growing local discontent.

During his visit, Mullah Yaqoob inspected border areas near Pakistan, China and Tajikistan.

Early on Friday, the newly formed Sepah-e Mihan group briefly seized Yaftal district in Badakhshan for several hours. The Taliban is concerned that growing local dissatisfaction could lead to the loss of control over parts of the province.

Central Asian countries also have security concerns, particularly that increasing instability could allow militant groups such as Islamic State and al-Qaeda to gain strength in border areas.

Regional Security Concerns

Russian and Central Asian officials discussed mechanisms for addressing security threats at the third meeting of Russia-Central Asia Security Council secretaries.

Sergei Shoigu, secretary of Russia’s Security Council, said at the 21st meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Security Council secretaries on 14 May that between 18,000 and 23,000 militants belonging to more than 20 groups were active in Afghanistan.

He said developments in Afghanistan were of particular importance to Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member states.

Mustaghfir Gurbaz said the relevant authorities were continuing efforts to investigate the incident and identify those responsible. On Monday, 20 July, he described claims of a political motive in Nangyalai’s killing as “incorrect and baseless”.

Gurbaz said the former soldier was shot dead with a pistol by his “enemies” while visiting a patient near Abdali Hospital in Khost’s 1,200-Family Township.

Afghanistan International reported on Sunday, citing its sources, that gunmen had killed a former member of the Khost Protection Force in the 1,200-Family area.

The Taliban spokesman also confirmed that Nangyalai had returned to Afghanistan about 10 days earlier.

Local sources said Nangyalai’s younger brother, Sayed Nazar, had also been killed by unidentified gunmen in Khost about two years ago.

Killings Continue

As the Taliban approaches the fifth anniversary of its return to power, killings of former security personnel continue across Afghanistan.

Sources told Afghanistan International that over the past three days, two former security personnel were killed in Daikundi and Ghazni, while another former soldier was wounded in Kandahar.

The Taliban leader announced a general amnesty in the first days after returning to power, but the United Nations has said Taliban forces failed to uphold it and that former security personnel have been deliberately targeted over the past five years.

An Afghanistan International investigative report found that even in cases where the Taliban detained suspects accused of targeted killings, it withheld information and did not disclose details.

Nangyalai served in the Khost Protection Force under the former government. The force was established with support from the US Central Intelligence Agency.

Its members were equipped with advanced military gear, and the force was estimated to have around 7,000 personnel.

Local sources told Afghanistan International on Monday that changes had been made to government posts in Nusay, Shekay, Jurm, Shahr-e Buzurg, Kishm, Argo, Yaftali Sufla and several other districts.

The reshuffle followed a surprise attack by a newly formed group called Sepahian-e Mihan, which briefly took Yaftal district out of Taliban control early on Friday.

Yaftal Officials Removed

Three days after Yaftal was briefly seized by the Sepahian-e Mihan Front, local Taliban officials in the district were removed from their posts.

Local sources told Afghanistan International that a new district governor and police chief were expected to be introduced on Monday.

Mawlawi Qadir Ghafouri was appointed as the new district governor of Yaftal, while Jahan Khan Noori was named the district’s new police chief.

Changes were also made in Shahr-e Buzurg, where Abdul Wahab Farooqi was appointed as the new police chief.

Changes in Nusay After Fateh’s Transfer to Kabul

After the Taliban summoned dissident commander Juma Khan Fateh from Nusay to Kabul, the group removed the district governor and police chief and appointed new officials.

A new police chief was also appointed for Jurm district.

Samiullah Rasouli was appointed district governor of Nusay, Hayatullah Almas as the district’s police chief, and Shamsullah Khalid as police chief of Jurm. They have begun their duties.

The changes followed weeks of escalating internal Taliban disputes in Nusay district.

The tensions peaked when Juma Khan Fateh, a local Taliban commander, and forces under his command refused to obey orders from senior Taliban officials.

After several weeks of negotiations and mediation by the Taliban’s army chief, Fateh was eventually transferred from Badakhshan to Kabul.

OCHA said on Monday, 20 July, that millions of mothers in Afghanistan continue striving to protect the health and future of their children despite the risk of malnutrition.

The agency stressed that supporting these mothers and children is essential to prevent the malnutrition crisis from worsening.

It added that investing in malnutrition prevention and treatment programmes would not only save lives, but also reduce healthcare costs, strengthen the economy and help break the cycle of malnutrition for future generations.

According to UN estimates, 3.7 million children under the age of five in Afghanistan are at risk this year.

Meanwhile, Médecins Sans Frontières aka Doctors Without Borders said the number of children with severe malnutrition admitted to its supported treatment centres in southern Afghanistan during the first four months of this year was more than 30 per cent higher than the average for the same period over the previous three years.

The organisation said cuts in international aid were among the factors worsening Afghanistan’s malnutrition crisis.

In response, officials from the Afghanistan Credit Guarantee Foundation asked the Taliban central bank to provide the necessary facilities to expand support for small and medium-sized enterprises.

The Taliban central bank said on Monday, 20 July, that its deputy governor, Sediqullah Khalid, met Dirk Joseph Thyssen, deputy head of the Afghanistan Credit Guarantee Foundation, in Kabul.

According to the bank’s statement, the two sides discussed facilitating small guarantees, increasing grants and expanding technical cooperation.

The central bank said the meeting also focused on effective measures to improve citizens’ access to small and medium-sized financing.

The Afghanistan Credit Guarantee Foundation is a non-profit development organisation established to support Afghanistan’s private sector. Its main role is to provide credit guarantees to banks and financial institutions so that micro, small and medium-sized businesses can more easily access loans.

Thyssen asked the Taliban central bank to provide the necessary facilities to expand financing for small and medium-sized institutions.

He also called for greater technical cooperation between the central bank and financial institutions, the implementation of joint programmes and the signing of memorandums of understanding to strengthen bilateral cooperation.

The Afghanistan Credit Guarantee Foundation does not lend directly to individuals or companies. Instead, it provides guarantees to banks so they can offer loans to businesses.

The foundation was established in 2014 with support from the German government, building on a programme launched in 2004 with backing from Germany and the United States to improve Afghan businesses’ access to bank credit.

The Taliban central bank said both sides stressed the importance of continued cooperation to expand financial inclusion, support the private sector and further strengthen Afghanistan’s financial and banking sectors.