Afghanistan updates: Taliban captures Zaranj city, over 3,000 civilians fled

The city fell within three hours of the Taliban assault, in the absence of reinforcements which local officials had been requesting for a week.

Subsequently, over 3,000 civilians fled the city and sought refuge in Iran, before Iranian forces sealed the border.

Earlier, after capturing the adjoining Kang District of Nimroz, the Taliban reportedly tortured and executed 30 surrendered ANDSF personnel.

Heavy fighting in Helmand, Jowzjan

Heavy fighting continued in the urban areas of the capitals of Helmand (Lashkar Gah) and Jowzjan (Sheberghan).

Taliban militants briefly occupied Shibherghan’s centre, before being repelled by the ANDSF and Uzbek leader Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum’s militia.

Meanwhile in Kabul, the Director of the Government Media and Information Centre (GMIC) and a former Radio Azadi journalist Dawa Khan Menapal was assassinated (Aug. 6) by Taliban terrorists.

Turkmenistan hosts summit meeting of Central Asian countries 

Turkmenistan hosted a Summit Meeting of the five Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) to discuss coordination of responses to potential security threats in view of the Afghan situation.

During the meeting, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon voiced concern over the entire Tajik-Afghan border being under Taliban control; the concentration of terrorist groups on the Afghan side; and over 2,000 ANDSF troops abandoning their posts and fleeing into Tajikistan without offering any resistance to the Taliban.

Earlier, Russian MoFA Deputy Spokesman Aleksandr Bikantov, observed that though the security situation in Afghanistan was ‘degrading’, the  Taliban offensive was running out of steam and the outfit had no resources to capture and hold major cities, including Kabul.

Concern over Afghanistan situation at UNSC

At the UN Security Council’s special meeting on Afghanistan, member states expressed concern at the deteriorating situation and called for a political settlement.

Head of the UNAMA Deborah Lyons, in her address, questioned the Taliban’s commitment to peace negotiations and cautioned that the war had now entered a ‘deadlier and more destructive’ phase, with over 1,000 civilians killed during the past month on account of Taliban offensives.