It is too early to draw conclusions about the occupation of the largest part of Afghanistan by the radical Taliban movement (banned in the Russian Federation). The Taliban control many districts but their centers, although the problem remains that many areas are left by the Afghan army, Zamir Kabulov, Special Representative of the Russian President and Director of the Second Asian Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
" To begin with, yes, the Taliban take control of the districts, but they do not take the majority of these districts by force, they simply leave them and the Afghan soldiers run away," said Kabulov.
According to him, the army units are concentrated in administrative centers, and "they leave all the posts and districts".
"The demoralized armed forces themselves surrender them. They (the Taliban - ed.) do not take the districts, but the districts "fall into their hands".
At that, he stressed that the number of districts is only 50 or 60, and it is too early to say that the Taliban are taking control of the whole country.
"There are about 300 districts in Afghanistan, for that matter. So, yes, the fighting season is underway, I said back in the spring that it would be 'on schedule.' But if the Taliban had taken at least one or two provincial centers in that time, you could draw conclusions. They haven't taken one. That shows that their opportunities are limited, too," the agency's interlocutor said.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Press Service of the Russian Foreign Ministry / TASS
Based on materials from RIA Novosti