Kabul-Sana
A local Afghan official announced today that the Taliban armed movement has taken control of Mazar-i-Sharif in the northern Afghan province of Balkh, which was the last stronghold of the Afghan government in the north, with security forces fleeing to the borders of Uzbekistan.
"Reuters" quoted Afzal Hadid, head of the local council in Balkh province, as saying in a statement: "The Taliban took control of Mazar-i-Sharif and the city apparently fell without a fight, and the soldiers abandoned their equipment and headed towards the border crossing."
The statement added: "All security forces have left Mazar-i-Sharif, despite the continuation of sporadic clashes in one area near the city center."
The Taliban has recently taken control of large areas of Afghanistan, including important cities and border crossings, in conjunction with the US administration's announcement of the withdrawal of its soldiers from this country after an occupation that lasted for nearly two decades and drained Afghanistan completely and plunged it into a cycle of chaos and violence.