Taliban Forces Kill 27 Members Of Afghan Security 

On September 17, 2018, global news sources reported that more than 27 security force members were killed across three provinces in Afghanistan: Farah, Badghis, and Baghlan. Taliban forces have been targeting police checkpoints and killing, wounding, or abducting security force members. The Taliban publicly claims responsibility for such attacks. These events highlight the continued difficulty the state has had in securing the country since U.S. and NATO-backed militias departed in 2014. Since then, casualties have grown to alarming numbers—but exact numbers are hidden by local and state entities. The state’s relationship with the rebel groups has been described as a stalemate, with morale decreasing in light of recent events.

In Baghlan, an attack on Monday killed 3 army men and 2 policemen. General Ekramuddin Serih, a provincial police chief of Baghlan, stated, “The base is under the control of the Afghan security forces now and reinforcements have also been sent to the districts.” Addul Hai Nimati, governor of Baghlan, remarked less positively that “[t]he Taliban don’t want peace, because they think they can win the war,” and that “[i]f it goes on like this, they’re going to win.” He continued, “There is a risk that even this province will collapse if we don’t get support. Until now, we have no reserve. Every man we have is fighting without any rest for 10 days now, and getting no sleep, and they’re tired.” Private Ahmad Javed, who is stationed in Baghlan, remarked in a similar tone: “Yesterday five people were killed and four wounded from our battalion, and no one helped them.” He noted that “[w]e never get reinforcements in time when the Taliban attack us, and our dead just lay on the scene. Because of that we lose our morale.”

In Farah, attacks beginning Sunday night killed at least 17 security force members (10 in the district of Push Rod, 7 in the district of Bala Buluk). In Badghis, 5 security force members were killed. Jamshid Shahabi, a spokesman for the Badghis governor, says 22 Taliban forces were killed as well. Taliban spokesman Qari Yusouf Ahmadi said the Taliban claims responsibility of the attacks in Farah. They have also claimed the attack in Badghis.

Afghanistan’s instability dates back decades, starting with the Soviet Union’s occupation in the late 1970s. In the 1980s, Muslim Afghan fighters (mujahideen) fought back against the communists, resulting in the communists’ withdrawal in the same decade. The Taliban, headed by Muslim cleric Mullah Mohammed Omar, seized control in 1996. The group advanced on Kabul and hung President Mohammad Najibullah. For years thereafter, the Taliban targeted and killed Shia citizens, intercepted and blocked global communications, and committed a number of human rights crimes. In 2001, the Taliban blew up a 2000-year-old Buddhist statue, and forced religious minorities to wear tags labelling them as non-Muslims. In the same year, Al-Qaeda attacked the U.S.’s Twin Towers, and the U.S. waged war in Afghanistan. In 2009, Barack Obama sent 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan. In 2014, the same year president Hamid Karzai left office, the U.S. and NATO-backed militias departed from the country.

Since then, the country has been subject to attack largely from the Taliban, but also from the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL). In 2016, the Taliban was killing 22 security forces per day, on average. Today, an estimated 57 security men are killed a day, although the numbers remain unclear as government officials keeps this information a secret. But, they readily reveal the Taliban’s casualties: in August, official government reports claimed that forces killed 42 Taliban militants a day, or 1,300 a month. Despite state efforts to conceal security force deaths for fear of signalling defeat, the Afghan National Army is having an increasingly difficult time recruiting members, and attrition rates are rising. With only about 14,000 U.S. troops remaining in Afghanistan, the Afghan National Army must address the Taliban’s guerrilla-style warfare largely alone.

On both sides, hundreds to thousands of people are dying each month, and these numbers do not even include the innocents that die as a result of the fighting. Last month, the Taliban seized Ghazni, and hundreds died before the Taliban was successfully driven out. Worse, exact numbers are being withheld for fear of political backlash. The U.S. has followed Afghan officials in concealing their numbers, concerned over the repercussions in international relations. Jason Dempsey, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, additionally states, “The body count figures are troubling because it shows our utter lack of strategy… …It’s just showing activity for activity’s stake.” The combination of ceaseless fighting and the withholding of information to influence political outcome has resulted in a highly dangerous state for the people of Afghanistan. The National Army requires strategic help, and military operations require some level of transparency. Productive, peace-keeping action must be taken.

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