Five years on, how will Taliban deal with armed opposition?

Saturday marks five years since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, and armed opposition to the movement is no longer confined to a single front or leadership.

Since the fall of the previous government in August 2021, several groups operating under different names and banners have emerged, claiming responsibility for attacks on government forces in a number of provinces. Their presence online has also increased noticeably in recent months.

A key question has emerged: Does the growing number of fronts represent a genuine expansion of armed opposition, or does it reflect fragmentation and divisions among its leaders?

The issue has taken on particular significance following renewed clashes in Badakhshan province, where the Afghanistan Freedom Front fought government forces in the province’s Zebak district.

The United Nations says armed groups opposed to the government remain active, but have been unable to pose a significant challenge to Taliban control of Afghan territory and do not control any fixed geographical areas.

The National Resistance Front was the first major armed formation to emerge after the fall of Kabul. As the previous government collapsed, hundreds of members of the army and security forces travelled to Panjshir province, north of Kabul, bringing weapons and equipment to join the new armed opposition.

The front sought to turn the valley into a centre of resistance against the Taliban, but the Taliban seized the provincial capital and most of the area following a major offensive. Fighting later shifted to limited operations and intermittent clashes in different locations.

Security affairs researcher Karim Amini told Al Jazeera that political and military figures from the former Afghan government sought to establish armed fronts after the US withdrawal as a means of putting pressure on the Taliban, “but they were unable to turn these projects into an influential force on the ground”.