An Afghan warlord who first acted against the forces of the former Soviet Union and then against the Taliban he promised to take up arms again against the latter, who were conquering territory in his stronghold, the province of Herat (west).
“Soon we will go back to the front and with the help of Allah, we will change the facts”, said Ismail Khan, one of the main warlords of the so-called Northern Alliance, which conceived to overthrow the Taliban regime during the US intervention in 2001.
Mr Khan, 75, made the remarks on the day the Taliban claimed control of 85% of Afghan territory, including strategically important border crossings with Iran, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
He blamed Afghan authorities for the loss of dozens of districts since the start of a large-scale Taliban offensive in early May, particularly in the north and west of the country, as US troops began withdrawing from the area. Afghanistan.
Several districts in Herat province fell to Islamist militants during the week, a result of “lack of attention, misinformation and several other reasons,” according to Khan.
“We urge all security forces (…) to resist with courage,” he told a news conference, adding that hundreds of people from across the province had approached him and said they were ready to take up arms and fight the Taliban under him. .
In recent days, videos and photos have been circulating on social media sites depicting Afghan figures, including parliamentarians, preparing with their supporters to fight the Islamists.
Some of these videos, the authenticity of which cannot be independently verified, even depict hundreds of women, armed and ready for battle.
“We hope that the men and women of Herat will decide from now on to support the resistance in order to defend their freedom and protect their honor,” Khan said.
Ismail Khan’s dreaded paramilitary group had launched a series of military victories over the Taliban in the 1990s. But its leader was forced to flee to Iran, along with thousands of his men, in 1995 when his key allies seceded.
In 1997, Mr Khan was captured by the Taliban, who had seized power the previous year, as he was returning to Afghanistan to stage an insurgency against their regime.
He escaped from a prison in Kandahar (southern) two years later, before returning to the scene during the US operation in 2001.
Mr. Khan served for some time as a minister in the government of former President Hamid Karzai (2001-2014), but always seemed to prefer to rule in his own parts of Herat, which many accuse of manipulating his property.
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