Daily Evacuation Brief | June 16, 2022

Jun 16, 2022

Several local sources in Herat say the Taliban have been randomly stopping pedestrians passing through checkpoints in order to go through their personal cell phones. Video footage of the practice shows youth traversing the education district are the primary targets of these searches. The Afghan Digest has not received any reports of arrests related to the practice, and it is not clear how widespread searches are.
No further reporting has come from the stand-off between the Taliban and Mullah Mahdi Mujahid in Balkhab, Sar-e-Pul province. Fighting had been previously reported between the two groups, but details and updates remain unclear. The most recent reports indicated that Taliban forces were having difficulty communicating with one another, and a possible large-scale fratricide incident had taken place during the night.
The Panjshir highway has been closed to vehicular traffic due to a landslide in the Pashgur area of Khenj district. Traffic is backed up for several miles, and road crews are said to be working on clearing the artery.
Journalist Akram Esmati claims he was beaten by Taliban security forces manning a checkpoint in Kabul’s Police District 5. He stated the guards accosted him because he was wearing trousers and confiscated his phone. Another journalist, Farhad Amiri, was seen to be arrested, and his family has had no news on his whereabouts or condition.
A spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied Russia intends to recognize the IEA.
The Afghan Digest received reports that all ICRC and UN flights inside Afghanistan have been canceled due to unspecified security concerns. A threat appeared on social media earlier from ISIS in Iraq that specifically mentioned the ICRC/UN, which may be the cause of the cancellation. We have yet to validate this information.
In a bizarre move, the Taliban’s Head of Money Changers and Monetary Services Union published a decree forbidding the online posting of exchange rates.
The Taliban claim to have arrested 3 conspirators implicated in the recent spate of bombings. The three unnamed men were captured in Police District 4 of Kabul and have reportedly confessed to their roles in the attacks.

`NEXT 24 HOURS`

Local Taliban commanders in Sar-e-Pul have called for an additional 250 troops to reinforce their operations against Mullah Mahdi’s breakaway faction in Balkhab. The convoy is expected to arrive in the next 24 hours. Sources in Kabul say the Taliban leadership in the Defense Ministry are growing impatient with the commanders who have encircled Balkhab and are pressing them to attack and arrest the defiant leader.

`SPOTLIGHT ANALYSIS`

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Afghanistan’s Warlords Prepare Their Comeback

By Lynne O’Donnell – Foreign Policy

Exiled warlords, power brokers, and ethnic leaders who fled Afghanistan last year ahead of the Taliban’s victory are threatening civil war unless the Islamists start negotiating to let them return home and reclaim their power and authority as an alternative to the nihilistic rule of the terrorists currently in charge.

`AFGHAN NEWS`

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3 million New Passports to be Print

By Bakhtar News Agency

The 37 weekly cabinet meetings of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan presided by Prime Minister, Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, discussed the printing of…