Afghanistan Times
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AT Monitoring Desk-KABUL: Kohistan district of northwestern Faryab province is at verge of fall to the Taliban if reinforcement were not dispatched on time, local provincial officials warned Monday.
Amir Taqwa, the town’s administrative chief, told Pajhwok Afghan News the rebels launched attacks from four sides on the district a week ago.
“During the past one week, I have been requesting the government to send reinforcements and conduct airstrikes, but I have received no positive response,” he complained.
Only 15 policeman here in the restive town to maintain security, he said, adding that some uprising groups were also resisting attacks from insurgents.
He said that the district could have been fallen to the Taliban long back, but the local uprising forces gave tit-for-tat response to their attacks.
“Government is not translating their pledges into action,” Pajhwok Afghan News quoted Dr. Saadat, a local uprising group commander, as saying. He said that the government is not honoring its promises.
“We use our own resources because the government is not providing us weapons and bullets.”
A former member of the provincial council and commander of an uprising group Mohibullah Mirzad, said that more than 300 of his fighters are fighting against Taliban insurgents.
He also blamed the government for not supporting local forces.
At the same time, police chief Brigadier General Abdul Nabi Elham said that insurgents sieged the district, saying they had informed higher-ups about the situation. “However, we did not receive any response yet.”
The siege comes as in the past, the Taliban fighter have left the restive Kohistana district of the province without any resistance after the arrival of the First Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum along with the national security forces to the area.
Local officials said the security forces managed to retake Kohistana district in a short span of time.
Dostum called on militants to surrender or face death upon his arrival in the province.
He survived at least two assassination plots by militant groups while he was leading counter-terrorism operations in there.
His convoy was ambushed by the Taliban in Qaisar district in Faryab.
