Taliban Continue Offensive, Seize Afghan Border Crossing

 

Hundreds of Taliban sweep into border town

by Jason Ditz 

Posted onJune 22, 2021CategoriesNewsTagsAfghanistan

Taliban offensives in northern Afghanistan continue apace, with hundreds of fighters seizing the Shir Khan border town into neighboring Tajikistan. Afghan soldiers have abandoned their posts, with some fleeing into Tajikistan.

This is the latest of a lot of losses in the area. The border crossing is some 50  km from Kunduz, whose provincial capital is also being attacked, and seems to risk falling. The Faryab Province capital is similarly being raided.

The Afghan government has faced precipitous losses recently, with the UN reporting that 50 out of 370 government-held districts have fallen outright. The rate of losses seems to be growing in recent weeks.

A big part of the losses seems to be the Afghan government withholding reinforcements in engagements, rather letting their troops get overrun and then trying to retake the territory at a later date. This gives the illusion of being on a counter-offensive, but they aren’t retaking nearly so much as they’ve lost.

https://news.antiwar.com/2021/06/22/taliban-continue-offensive-seize-afghan-border-crossing/