Wikipedia

National Resistance Front of Afghanistan

anti-Taliban Afghan alliance created in 2021

The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF),[1][2][3] also known as the Panjshir resistance and the Second Resistance,[4] is a military alliance of former Northern Alliance members and other anti-Taliban fighters who remain loyal to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The group has been known since August 2021 - during the 2021 Taliban offensive.

View of the Panjshir valley

The group had de facto control over the Panjshir Valley, as of early September 2021; but on September 6, 2021, there was heavy fighting and many deaths on both sides; the Taliban took control of the house that has the governor's office in Bazarak;[5] and the Taliban took control of most of the Panjshir province.[6]

The leaders of the resistance group are the politicians Ahmad Massoud and Amrullah Saleh (the vice president in the government that lost power over most of Afghanistan in August 2021).[7]

Massoud escaped to Tajikistan [sometime between September 6 and September 21]; Saleh escaped (by helicopter) a few days after Massoud; The two have not been seen in public, after their escape, said "The Intercept" on September 21; Its sources are "a senior U.S. intelligence official, a Pentagon consultant, and two former senior Afghan government officials".[8]

The name second resistance follows the name of the "first resistance" - a fight between the Northern Alliance (and a few other groups) against the Taliban from 1993 to the early 2000s.

A resistance fighter in Panjshir (September 11, 2021)

Timeline of the Panjshir conflict

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Media said in August, that "There have been messages among" American and British former soldiers and former private security contractors (that had worked in Afghanistan); the messages are saying that Afghans outside the country are "starting to gather" money for raising [or building] "private forces [...] to fight the Taliban".[9]

As of September 9, researchers at Bellingcat said that intelligence from publicly available sources, shows that the Taliban control territory at least 60 kilometres (37 mi) into the valley.[10] The Taliban has placed the valley under siege, and journalists or goods can not come into the valley; That is why media said that is difficult to know how much control the Taliban have.[7]

One investigative report was published by BBC on 13 September; The report found that the Taliban had executed at least 20 civilians in Panjshir since they went into the valley.[11] Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid, on the other hand, denied the group had done any human rights violation in the province.[12] Journalists from Agence France-Presse were let into Panjshir on 15 September; They found many villages in the three districts they visited nearly empty; Residents told the journalists that the Taliban had executed 19 civilians between the village of Khenj and Bazarak; Residents also said that civilians were being (stopped or) prevented from escaping the province, so that civilians could be used as human shields during attacks by resistance fighters.[13]

A doctor in Panjshir told Al Jazeera that all hospitals in the province had been closed or were operating on limited supplies, except for an emergency hospital staffed by Italians.[14]

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    As of August 18, 2021, media said that there was battle at Salang Pass; Soldiers from the Islamic Republic and the Islamic Emirate were fighting there. (Picture from 2005)
  •  
    By September 4, Taliban forces were at Anaba, Anaba District (Picture from 2010).
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References

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  1. ↑ "The mujahideen resistance to the Taliban begins now. But we need help". Washington Post. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
  2. ↑ "Afghan leader of Taliban resistance urges West to "supply us without delay"". Newsweek. 2021-08-19. Retrieved 2021-08-20.
  3. ↑ "National Resistance Front Of Afghanistan | The Irish Times". www.irishtimes.com. Archived from the original on 2022-06-23. Retrieved 2021-08-20.
  4. ↑ "Analysis | Northern Afghanistan once kept out the Taliban. Why has it fallen so quickly this time?". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-08-18."Taliban promises not to move to Panshir; Ahmad Massoud says he is ready to give his blood for his land | Tajikistan News ASIA-Plus". asiaplustj.info. Retrieved 2021-08-19."Preparing for a Post-Departure Afghanistan: Changing political dynamics in the wake of the US troop withdrawal announcement". Afghanistan Analysts Network. 2021-06-04. Retrieved 2021-08-19."He promised an "organized resistance" to Taliban rule. Now he wants U.S. help to lead the fight". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2021-08-19."Northern Afghanistan once kept out the Taliban. Why has it fallen so quickly this time?". Washington Post.
  5. ↑ Shah, Saeed (6 September 2021). "Taliban Claim to Have Conquered Last Pocket of Resistance in Afghanistan". Wall Street Journal.
  6. ↑ Kazmin, Amy; Findlay, Stephanie; Bokhari, Farhan (September 6, 2021). "Taliban says it has captured last Afghan region of resistance". Financial Times. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "'Panjshir stands strong': Afghanistan's last holdout against the Taliban". The Guardian. 2021-08-18. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  8. ↑ Matthew Cole; Ken Klippenstein (21 September 2021). "With no U.S. support, leaders of Afghan resistance flee the country". The Intercept.
  9. ↑ "The fightback begins: Resistance to Taliban starts but chance of success is low". The Independent. 2021-08-20. Retrieved 2021-08-31.. "There have been messages among former American and British military, many of whom had deployed in Afghanistan while in service, or later as private security contractors, about Afghans abroad allegedly starting to raise [money or] funds for private forces to be raised to fight the Taliban".
  10. ↑ Kumar, Ankit (2021-09-09). "How far inside the Panjshir valley have Taliban breached?". India Today. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  11. ↑ "Afghanistan crisis: Taliban kill civilians in resistance stronghold". BBC. 13 September 2021. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  12. ↑ Lalzoy, Najibullah (14 September 2021). "Taliban denies human rights' violation, war crimes in Panjshir province". Khaama Press. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  13. ↑ "'No one left': Afghanistan's Panjshir is now the realm of ghost towns and old men". Agence France-Presse. India Today. 17 September 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  14. ↑ M. Latifi, Ali (17 September 2021). "Afghans who fled Panjshir: 'Everything can change by the hour'". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 17 September 2021.


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