Taliban pressured by insurgents after 5 years in power

Less than a month before the five-year anniversary of the Taliban retaking power in Afghanistan , the Islamist regime lost control of the Yaftal-e Payeen district capital in the northeastern province of Badakhshan. The disruption was temporary, but it nevertheless marked the first time the Taliban lost control of a district center since returning to power in August 2021 .

Reports from Badakhshan also indicated internal clashes among Taliban fighters and fatal attack on high-ranking Taliban officials.

On August 2, some two weeks after the brief loss of the district center, former Afghan army general Sami Sadat ordered his forces to launch attacks against the Taliban across the country.

"Today at 5:00 AM, I ordered all military members of the United Front to begin military operations," General Sadat in a video message released from the US, where he has lived since the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban.

Other armed groups, including the National Resistance Front led by the son of the late commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, have been engaged in a continuous armed struggle against the Taliban since 2021. While armed insurgents have not been able to pose a major threat to the Taliban's overall grip on power, experts are questioning whether the clashes in Badakhshan could pave the way for more impactful resistance.

"In these five years, this opposition existed in two forms: political and military... As the five-year mark approaches, both forms of opposition have taken shape," former Afghan Interior Minister Mohammad Umer Daudzai told DW.

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The Taliban have reigned with an iron fist since the collapse of the US-backed Afghan government five years ago. The Islamist regime denied basic human rights and imposed strict restrictions on women, banning them from work and education beyond the sixth grade. Most former government officials are in exile. While the Taliban maintain that all Afghans are free to return and lead ordinary lives, opponents counter that return is only viable if political activity is permitted.