Daily Evacuation Brief | July 7, 2022
Discover more from The Afghan Digest
LAST 24 HOURS
Sources in Sar-e-Pol province claim that rebel Hazara Taliban commander Mawlawi Mehdi Mujahid returned to the Balkhab district to rally his forces. Reportedly he is attempting to reconstitute approximately 500 fighters to challenge the Taliban forces who were stationed in the district after he was forced to flee into the hills. More information on the conflict is available HERE and in Daily Evacuation Briefs from mid to late June including HERE, HERE, and HERE.
Dozens of primarily Hazara families who fled the fighting in Balkhab remain displaced in the surrounding mountains, and 4 children are believed to have died from thirst and hunger so far. There are unconfirmed reports that the Taliban have prevented aid from being delivered to the displaced families. Social media attention has surged in recent days, hopefully capturing international attention and increasing pressure for a response.
In a continued display of strength after yesterday’s rocket attacks on the border city of Termez, Uzbekistan has beefed up security along the border, and aircraft continue to patrol the demarcation line. Follow-up reporting from Uzbekistan indicated that none of the projectiles that landed in Termez detonated. However, Uzbek authorities remain wary and are now disregarding Taliban assurances about their ability to police the Afghan side of the border. Tajikistan has also moved military personnel and equipment to its border in anticipation of a similar attack.
The Abresham crossing to Iran was reopened for 12 hours to facilitate the return of Iranian and Afghan personnel and vehicles. The crossing has been closed back down for an indeterminate period of time.
Severe flooding has caused significant damages to crops and animal herds in Ghazni. At least 12 people have reportedly drowned in the flooding.
NEXT 24 HOURS
Security forces in Kabul will likely be on high alert after the intense fighting in the Khair Khana district over the past 12 hours, and public transport will remain disrupted. At-risk Afghans are encouraged to avoid that area if possible.
SPOTLIGHT ANALYSIS
Donors’ dilemma: How to provide aid to a country whose government you do not recognize
By Roxanna Shapour – Afghanistan Analysts Network
It has been ten months since the Taleban took control of Afghanistan, setting off economic collapse on an unprecedented scale that has seen millions of Afghans fall into extreme poverty. While the Taleban continue to snub calls from Western capitals to respect human rights, including the rights of Afghan girls and women, donor countries have tried to navigate the myriad difficult choices surrounding providing aid beyond the strictly humanitarian for Afghanistan. In this report, AAN’s Roxanna Shapour looks at how engagement between donors and the Taleban has gone so far, what the future of aid to Afghanistan might look like, how donors might bridge the distance between their demands and the Taleban’s increasing restrictions, and what mechanisms exist that might allow for non-humanitarian assistance.
AFGHAN NEWS
New UN Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan arrives in Kabul
By United Nations
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Markus Potzel of Germany as his new Deputy Special…
Taliban Wage War Over Coal in Northern Afghanistan
By Stefanie Glinski – Foreign Policy
Fighting has been ongoing in the remote Balkhab district of Afghanistan’s northern Sar-e-Pol province over the…
Karzai urges immediate return of girls to school to help economic future
By Ariana News
“The most important and pressing issue is the return of Afghan girls to school from grades 6 to 12,” Karzai said in an…
REGIONAL NEWS
Can the Taliban Actually Prevent Attacks Launched From Afghan Soil?
By Catherine Putz – The Diplomat
The Taliban promised, again, that Afghan soil would not be used to threaten the security of neighboring countries a day after five rockets…
Afghan Religious Figure Gunned Down in India
By Saqalain Eqbal – Khaama Press
According to a media source from India’s Maharashtra state on Wednesday, the Afghan religious figure Khwaja Syed Zarif Chishti, popularly known as Zarif Baba, had…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
US Says ‘It's Too Early’ to Consider Recognition of Taliban
By Ayaz Gul & Navbahor Imamova – VOA
The United States says no foreign government is contemplating legitimacy for Taliban rule in Afghanistan, even as the insurgent-turned-Islamist group next month will…
Why are Afghanistan and Bangladesh's crises being ignored?
By Jessica Adams – The New Arab
Last week at the G7 meeting, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the cost of supporting Ukraine was one “worth paying”, despite how it has…
THE DAILY WTF
IEA official cites economic woes as a reason for closure of girls’ schools
By Ariana News
“I think the main issue is the economic problem… all our funds are frozen outside the country,” Qalandar Ebad, the…”
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 87.76 AFN (as of 07 JUL 2022)