Daily Evacuation Brief | April 22, 2022

Apr 22, 2022

LAST 24 HOURS:

A series of bombings took place across the country over the last twenty-four hours. Information behind each incident is slowly coming in. Refer to the Conflict Tracker below for more information.
The Taliban announced their intention to ban TikTok and a role-playing game. Sources in the Ministry of the Interior claim more sweeping bans are coming. Please refer to Whispers 003 for more information about the threat of a digital crackdown.
Taliban security forces interdicted a smuggling operation on the Iranian border where a group was attempting to sell a surveillance airship to someone in Iran. One suspect is currently in custody and the equipment has been recovered.
As previously reported in our Spotlight Analysis on 17 April, the ISIS-K rockets that were directed toward Uzbekistan fell short of the border. Taliban spokesman Enamulla Samangani confirmed the incident took place but said the rockets fell on abandoned buildings inside of Afghanistan’s border. He also claimed three people had been arrested over the incident but provided no additional information. Clearly, the increased security activities observed on the Uzbek side of the border illustrates the concern Tashkent has over the Taliban’s ability to control rogue elements in the country.

NEXT 24 HOURS:

The NRF is expected to launch more operations in Badakhshan over the next 24 hours. As many of the recent reinforcements sent to the region are called back to Kabul and elsewhere, sources state that local NRFcommanders now see some opportunities to engage with the Taliban.
The Iranian envoy to Kabul is expected to meet with Taliban leadership to ask for assurances about safeguards for the Shiite community in Afghanistan. Sources state the relationship between the two countries is seriously strained at the moment, and the Palace believes recent remarks made by the Iranian President over not recognizing the Taliban diplomatically represent a veiled threat to pull support.

ANALYSIS SPOTLIGHT:

Map

Description automatically generated

Tracking Disorder During Taliban Rule in Afghanistan

By ACLED and APW

INTRODUCTION:

After the 15 August 2021 fall of Kabul to Taliban forces, violence towards civilians has persisted in Afghanistan. As a result of the heightened risk of violence targeting civilians under Taliban rule, Afghanistan is included in ACLED’s 10 conflicts to worry about in 2022, in part due to the particularly high level of violence targeting women in politics, specifically women who aim to prevent the erosion of the rights of women and girls. Amid ongoing concerns over civilian targeting and an increasingly repressive context for reporting, acquiring information on risks has been severely impacted. Organizations tracking political violence and protests have thus had to adapt to the changing environment to adequately capture trends on the ground.

Download the full report in ENGLISH PASHTO DARI

Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 87.09 AFN (as of 22 APR 2022)