Taliban Tells Fighters to Leave Afghan Homes They Took Over

Taliban leadership has been trying to impose order in its ranks

On Thursday, the Taliban ordered its fighters to leave private homes that were taken during the past few months of fighting against the now-defunct US-backed Afghan government.

The order was given by Acting Prime Minister Hasan Akhund, who said Taliban fighters must “report back to military bases. The Taliban has control of all the bases abandoned by the US and its allies.

The directive from Akhund is another example of the Taliban trying to impose order in its ranks. There have been reports of Taliban fighters carrying out reprisals against former government officials, but the central leadership has been calling for calm.

Last week, acting Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob called on Taliban fighters to respect the general amnesty given to former government officials and stop defaming the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), the formal name of the Taliban government.

“Behave well with people, do not defame IEA with your arbitrary actions, stop taking unnecessary photos and videos, and do not enter government administrations unless you need to,” said Yaqoob, the son of the late Taliban founder Mullah Omar.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.