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The Afghan border soldier Sayyed Agha is angry at the Kabul politicians: "They would never send their own sons here"
Photo: Emran Feroz
Gunshots can be heard in the background as the soldier Hamza Mohammadi poses with his rifle next to an onlooker and smiles at the camera.
He's just in his early twenties, has dark blonde hair and a full beard.
He wears sports shoes with his military uniform.
A few meters away from him, two machine guns aim at all-terrain Humvees of the Afghan army at a barely visible, high Taliban position in the mountains - it is one of many in the Pech Valley in the eastern Afghan province of Kunar.
The soldiers fire their volleys at irregular intervals.
You neither hear nor see the enemy.
"They're hiding up there," comments one soldier hotly.
Due to the confusing battle, there is a traffic jam on the road that leads to the neighboring province of Nooristan.
A land mine went off shortly before.
Civilians who want to continue their journey now have to repair the damage on the street.
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Soldier Hamza Mohammadi in the Pech Valley
Photo: Emran Feroz
Some of them try to fill the small crater in the ground with rocks.
Meanwhile, they watch the battle going on.
Some people drink tea, take pictures of the landscape, or chat loudly with friends and relatives.
The whole situation seems absurd - but it has become all too normal in a country where war has been raging for over 40 years and dominating everyday life.
America's withdrawal after 20 years
On Wednesday US President Joe Biden announced the final withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.
There are only around 3,500 of them left in the country, and they too should leave Afghanistan by September 11, 2021;
The other NATO partners, including Germany, should also leave the country by then at the latest.
It would be the official end of a war that lasted almost 20 years.
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Civilians repair the road damaged in the fighting in the Pech Valley
Photo: Emran Feroz
Biden also wants to honor the agreement that the government of his predecessor Donald Trump signed with the Afghan Taliban in the Gulf emirate of Qatar in February of last year.
The deal originally called for a total withdrawal by May 2021.
Now the deadline has been pushed back - to a symbolic date: 20 years after the September 11, 2001 attacks, which began an entire era of American wars.
Many people in Kabul have concerns about the future
The Taliban are now outraged that the original deadline will not be met.
In Kabul, on the other hand, where a government was built under American military power, there is great concern about what will now follow.
In any case, the Taliban's deal with the Americans does not mean a peace agreement.
The extremists continue to fight the Afghan army and regularly attack civilians.
According to the latest UNAMA report, at least 573 civilians were killed and 1,783 others injured in the first quarter of 2021.
The number of security guards killed is usually many times higher - and it is rarely taken into account.
Many of these soldiers are young men like Mohammadi.
And they have long been on their own.
This is particularly evident in regions such as the Pech Valley.
»Pech« (pronounced »Peetsch«) means »screw«.
But the valley is not only known for its narrow and interwoven roads and rivers.
Kunar is one of the most famous theaters of war in Afghanistan and is ideally suited for guerrilla warfare.
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President Joe Biden announcing the withdrawal from Afghanistan on Wednesday
Photo: Andrew Harnik / Pool / Getty Images
As early as the 1980s, the mujahideen rebels successfully fought the Red Army here and shot down Russian helicopters.
Years later, during the American "War on Terror", the US soldiers suffered some devastating defeats in the fight against the Taliban in Kunar.
The Pech Valley has brought numerous elite soldiers to their knees.
In addition to the Taliban, al-Qaida was also present in Kunar - as was the Afghan branch of the »Islamic State« in recent years.
The young soldier Mohammadi is unimpressed by the American withdrawal: "We have been fighting alone for a long time, and with God's help we will be victorious," he says.
He has been stationed in the Pech Valley for a few months and is originally from the neighboring province of Nangarhar.
He can only visit his family at irregular intervals.
Mohammadi is not surprised that the Americans have left Kunar and other locations.
“This is our fight.
We have to take care of it ourselves, ”he says.
Abdul Hadi, another soldier and comrade in arms of Mohammadi, is more skeptical.
“Take a look around here.
This is our everyday life.
How long is this going to go on? ”He asks himself.
Abdul Hadi comes from Kabul.
He did not know Kunar or other Afghan provinces before - he first met them as a soldier.
“Life here is different than in Kabul.
Many do not even know what is going on here, let alone the politicians responsible, «says Abdul Hadi.
He and Mohammadi just had to bury fallen comrades here.
more on the subject
Troop withdrawal negotiations: US Secretary of State surprisingly arrives in Afghanistan
UN report: the number of civilian victims in the conflict in Afghanistan has risen significantly
Human rights activist in Afghanistan: »The Taliban are working off death lists.
My name is on it «An interview by Susanne Koelbl
Secret report on the US operation in Afghanistan: The war and the lies by Susanne Koelbl
You seldom hear about all the Afghan soldiers who are killed every day in Afghanistan.
In September 2019, ex-President Donald Trump briefly terminated peace negotiations with the Taliban after a US soldier was killed in a battle.
"The talks are dead," Trump said shortly before the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Washington resumed talks a few weeks later.
The Americans are already packing their things
During the same period, the insurgents killed hundreds of Afghan soldiers - mostly simple men from poor families like Mohammadi and Abdul Hadi.
This has not changed since the Doha deal was signed.
While the US soldiers have withdrawn to their bases and are already packing their things, the war is still being fought on the shoulders of the Afghan army.
“The Americans have been gone a long time.
However, we cannot withdraw.
This is our country and we defend it, ”says Sayyed Agha.
He is currently stationed in the Sarkano district on the Pakistani border.
His monthly pay: around 140 euros.
The billions from the US have perished in corruption
The border post is small and isolated.
There is no electricity.
The soldiers have to buy water with canisters on the high hill.
Billions of dollars in international aid have flowed into the Afghan army over the past two decades.
But the soldiers in Kunar lack the most basic things.
One reason is massive corruption.
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US soldiers suffered several defeats against the Taliban in the tortuous valley of Pech
Photo: Emran Feroz
High-ranking military personnel have consistently enriched themselves personally, while those who fight at the front have practically nothing. Sayyed Agha also blames the Afghan government in Kabul for this. “We fight for politicians with foreign citizenships. Their own families live abroad. They would never send their own sons here, ”Agha complains.
The government of President Ashraf Ghani has long been criticized for having lost touch with reality. Many of Ghani's closest advisers are Afghans abroad, some of whom do not speak any of the national languages and are causing a stir with corruption scandals. “These people live in their own world, and it has nothing in common with ours. We are not fighting for them, but for our country, ”Agha sums up. He grabs his water canister and climbs up the hill.
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