Weiter Gefechte um Kundus

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Die Erwartung, dass die afghanischen Sicherheitskräfte die Lage im nordafghanischen Kundus recht bald bereinigen werden, scheint sich weiterhin nicht zu erfüllen. Seit dem koordinierten Angriff der Taliban auf die Provinzhauptstadt am vergangenen Montag gab und gibt es wiederholte Versuche von afghanischer Armee und Polizei, die Stadt wieder vollständig unter Kontrolle der Zentralregierung zu bekommen, aber so recht funktioniert das wohl nicht:

Taliban fighters were holding out against Afghan troops in Kunduz on Friday, a day after government forces recaptured most of the northern city that had fallen to the militants in their biggest victory of a 14-year insurgency.

(…)
In Badakhsan province in Afghanistan’s northeast, the Taliban took control of Warduj district late on Thursday after heavy fighting, according to Nawid Forotan, a spokesman for the provincial governor.
Residents in Kunduz, a strategic city of 300,000 that fell to the Taliban in a stunning pre-dawn attack on Monday, said that while most Taliban fighters had fled, some were holed up in civilian homes fighting the army.

berichtet Reuters. AFP hat ähnliche Informationen:

Fierce clashes raged in Kunduz Friday despite Afghan government claims they had retaken the city from Taliban fighters, forcing residents to cower in their basements as explosions and gunfights rocked the northern city.
The battle for control of the city continued despite support from US-led special forces joining Afghan troops in efforts to push back the Taliban, who seized the city five days ago in a lightning strike.
With parts of the city still wracked with violence, and following claim and counter-claim by the Afghan government and the Taliban over who controlled the city, only a limited picture has emerged of conditions inside Kunduz.

Die innerafghanische Debatte über den Fall von Kundus hält unterdessen an – und sowohl Fehler und Versäumnisse der afghanischen Sicherheitskräfte als auch Versagen der Regierung und Korruption werden zum Thema. Dazu passt auch das Interview der dpa mit dem (neuen) Gouverneur von Kundus.

Associated Press hat ein Telefoninterview mit dem Führer der Taliban geführt – der natürlich Kundus als Erfolg bewertet, interessanterweise aber auch sagt, die Aufständischen hätten sich nach drei Tagen zurückgezogen:

The new leader of the Afghan Taliban said on Friday that the capture of the northern Afghan city of Kunduz was a „symbolic victory“ that showed the strength of the insurgency — even though the Taliban pulled out of the city after three days.
Still, the three-day occupation of Kunduz was also „a historic event,“ which was „celebrated by the ordinary people of the city,“ said Mullah Akhtar Mansoor.
Mansoor, who spoke to The Associated Press by telephone from an unknown location, was appointed the Taliban leader in August, after revelations that the group’s founder, Mullah Muhammad Omar, had died more than two years ago. (…)
„The victory is a symbolic victory for us, and moreover, it is also a historical event which will be remembered,“ Mansoor said.

Ein Video von France24 vom Freitag:


(Direktlink: https://youtu.be/77cYCNfhSMk)

Zu den Gefechten unter Einbeziehung von U.S. Special Forces das Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Special Forces traded fire with Taliban insurgents in the northern city of Kunduz, the U.S. military said Friday, a rare direct ground engagement for American troops stationed in the country.
The clash on Thursday marked the first time U.S. ground forces are known to have directly fought the Taliban since the militants stormed Kunduz on Monday.U.S. Special Forces advisers “encountered an insurgent threat in Kunduz city” and “returned fire in self-defense to eliminate the threat,” said U.S. Army Col. Brian Tribus, spokesman for American and allied troops in Afghanistan.

Wie bei diesem Thema nötig: Weiter nach Entwicklung.