Following up on last week’s capture of an important defensive post outside the city of Ghazni, Taliban forces are advancing against the Jaghori District, which is mostly populated by Shi’ites.
The Afghan government has scrambled reinforcements, but the Taliban continues to gain ground. At least 10 Afghan commandos were reported slain in the fighting, while 15 civilians were also reported to have been killed.
The Taliban has intermittently seized Ghazni in recent years, and has been contesting the area again for months. The loss of such a big city would really hurt morale, which is why it has been a major focus of Afghan reinforcements, even as other areas face similar offensives.
The Shi’ite Hazaras have mobilized their own local militias to try to resist the Taliban. While in general, the Taliban has not explicitly targeted the Shi’ites during the war, other Islamist factions have, and that has led to the Hazaras developing their own security forces.
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The Shi’ite Hazaras have mobilized their own local militias to try to
resist the Taliban. While in general, the Taliban has not explicitly
targeted the Shi’ites during the war, other Islamist factions have, and
that has led to the Hazaras developing their own security forces.
Let’s take a closer look at a Hazara militia:
The untouchable: a new breed of warlord
https://static.ffx.io/images/$width_960%2C$height_540/t_crop_fill/t_sharpen%2Cq_auto%2Cf_auto/b7b0cfeffbe07fce8c17e39d8aa685229d390664
Proof of the eternal wisdom that violence begets violence, the fruit of violence is only violence and peace can never come from violence just as a pig will never give birth to a chicken. The circle of violence as completed a turn.
Good!
Still ‘winning’ in Afghanistan after 17 years.