Fighting in Afghanistan will affect far and near countries: UN

 Fighting in Afghanistan will affect far and near countries: UN

The United Nations has warned that in the last days of the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, attacks by the Taliban have intensified and they have seized dozens of districts.

Deborah Lines, the UN special envoy, warned the Security Council of dire consequences, saying that since May, militants have seized 50 of Afghanistan's 370 districts.

He said the escalation of fighting in Afghanistan would affect many countries far and near.

The United States and NATO countries are still serious about completing the withdrawal by September 11. However, the Pentagon has said that the withdrawal of foreign troops could be slowed down given the growing success of the Taliban.

He said the majority of the districts that the Taliban are trying to seize are those that surround the provincial capitals, and that the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country indicates that they are occupying the provincial capitals. Want.

Afghan officials say the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan's most important border crossing with Tajikistan on Tuesday.

The border route is in the northeastern province of Kunduz, where fighting has intensified in recent days.

The Taliban have claimed control of much of the province and only government forces are present in the provincial capital. The Afghan Defense Ministry in Kabul says government forces have regained control of several districts and are still conducting operations. The U.S. military says the Taliban's recent military successes in Afghanistan The pace of withdrawal of national forces can be slowed down.

Earlier, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the deadline for a full withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan would be September 11, but that the pace of troop withdrawals could be slowed.

US Department of Defense officials said last week that half the evacuation had taken place.

Violence in the country has risen alarmingly since the withdrawal of NATO and US troops from Afghanistan.

Over the past month, the Taliban's operations have intensified and they have taken control of 30 districts of the country. According to local media, the extremist Islamic group has snatched large quantities of ammunition from government forces and killed and wounded a large number of Afghan soldiers.

Afghan government spokesmen deny reports that the Taliban have seized dozens of districts. He said the districts had been evacuated as part of a war strategy and it was unclear how many Taliban had been killed.

The city, which has long been a target of the Taliban, fell to the Taliban for a few days in 2015, but government forces, backed by NATO and US forces, forced the Taliban to retreat.

Afghan security forces repulsed Taliban attacks in the northeastern province of Takhar on Sunday and regained control of two districts.

A Pentagon spokesman says the situation in Afghanistan is changing as the Taliban attack district centers and escalate violence, which is already rampant.

He said he wanted to be flexible if the pace of evacuation needed to be changed or the army had to stop withdrawing in a week or a day.

"We are reviewing on a regular and daily basis what the ground situation is, what we may need and what additional resources we may need to get out of the country and what the pace should be. '

"All these important decisions are being made from time to time," he said. The United States ousted the Taliban in October 2001. The Taliban sheltered al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and other leading members.

US President Joe Biden says the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan is justified because US forces have ensured that foreign extremists can no longer gather in Afghanistan to plot against Western countries. A senior UN official warned last year that many al-Qaeda members had now infiltrated the Taliban.