Sharia law and its strict application in Afghanistan 2:16
(CNN in Spanish) -
The Taliban have taken control of most of Afghanistan, including the capital Kabul - which fell more than a week ago - after the announcement of the final withdrawal of the United States troops, after 20 years of presence in the country.
The situation has caused chaos and uncertainty in Afghanistan, as the United States and NATO countries accelerate the evacuation of their personnel in the country and of Afghans trying to escape possible reprisals.
What does this mean for the world and who will benefit from this situation?
Influence of China, Russia and other actors in the region
Oliver Wack, general manager of the Control Risks firm in Bogotá, said on CNN en Español's "Panorama Mundial" program that one of the great differences between the Taliban who have taken power and those who ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s It is that they do not come to power "isolated" and that they have to ensure a degree of international legitimacy.
"In 2021 these Taliban do not come to power as isolated as in 1996, they come with the explicit backing of China and Pakistan, and at least a tacit backing from Russia," he said.
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Taliban fighters patrol Kabul, Afghanistan.
Shortly after the fall of Kabul, China and Russia were among the few countries that did not evacuate their embassies.
Beijing even called the Taliban "sober and rational" compared to their facet in the 1990s.
The role of the US in the international community
"I think all these actors wanted to see the United States outside of Afghanistan first. The question is to what extent will the Taliban 2.0 allow itself to be controlled, and whether these countries will have the influence they believe they have over them," Wack added.
Joseph Humire, executive director of the Center for a Secure Free Society and an expert on counterterrorism, told CNN that "in geopolitics, where there is a vacuum, it is always filled, and the Taliban will probably align with China, Russia, Pakistan and Iran," he added. .
While Joseph Hage, political analyst and expert on terrorism, told CNN that "we have to see what Iran's relationship with the Taliban is going to be, and if Iran will set up a proxy in Afghanistan. That is its modus operandi."
The Taliban have released a series of photos of their fighters in an Independence Day parade brandishing American assault weapons.
For Gil Troy, a historian at McGill University, the US withdrawal appears to be "a massive blow" to American credibility internationally.
"This is so to the point where the great victory of the Afghan (and Iraqi) war is being overlooked: after 9/11 Americans feared there would be many subsequent attacks of a similar scale. By bringing the fight to our adversaries, in their terrain, the brave American soldiers helped prevent numerous catastrophes and changed the terms of the debate, "he told CNN.
The situation of women in Afghanistan
During their rule between 1996 and 2001, the Taliban imposed strong restrictions on women, based on their strict adherence to Islamic or Sharia law: they were prohibited from accessing education, they were prevented from working in most fields, they were it imposed the mandatory use of the burqa - the most severe type of Islamic veil - in addition to imposing barbaric penalties for the violation of these measures.
Although one of the spokesmen of the Taliban, Sohail Shaheen, assured that in the new Taliban government a more moderate position will be taken and rights will be respected, including that of women to receive an education, many doubts remain.
Are women's rights at risk in Afghanistan?
2:51
Sunita Viswanath, president of the Women for Afghan Women organization, told CNN that it is still unknown whether the advancement of women's rights in Afghanistan over the past 20 years is in jeopardy.
At the moment, many women have remained at home waiting, he said.
Al Qaeda and terrorism
Francis Kinney, a retired colonel in the United States Army, said this Monday in CNN en Español's "World Panorama" that the United States "should think about how to maintain some kind of influence in Afghanistan, directly or indirectly, so that the groups do not return. terrorists and is not a basis for international terrorism. "
"But we must also bear in mind that international terrorism can appear and grow anywhere and we must be aware of that threat."
Afghanistan under the Taliban: again a sanctuary for al Qaeda?
The departure of US troops from Afghanistan was agreed in February 2020 in Doha, Qatar, following a series of dialogues between the US and the Taliban.
In return, the Taliban were to offer guarantees that Afghanistan will not be used as a base for terrorist groups as in the 1990s, among other issues.
Exclusive: new details on al Qaeda's reach 4:01
But Humire considered that "many (al Qaeda fighters) had gone to Iran to seek refuge, because the US was looking for them in Afghanistan, and they will return. Iran gave them refuge, but Afghanistan is their ideal terrain because it is Sunni instead. Shiite (like Iran) ".
Glossary of terms to understand the Taliban movement
Hage also maintained that members of al Qaeda in other parts of the world, such as refugees in Iran, in Syria, in Europe, will try to return to Afghanistan.
Drug trafficking and arms sales
Humire told CNN that after the return of the Taliban there are two factors to look closely at.
"Drug trafficking must be monitored, the Taliban have always been in this business. This implies that the trafficking and cultivation of poppies (used to manufacture opium) can grow a lot," he said.
This is how the Taliban parade with American weapons 2:37
Secondly, Humire stressed that many weapons provided by the US to the Afghan security forces have remained in the country, and that they will now be in control of the Taliban.
These include not only assault rifles and small arms, but also vehicles and helicopters that the Taliban will not know how to use and will seek to sell.
This is how you can help Afghan refugees
The situation of refugees and migrants
Since Aug. 14, the day before the Taliban arrived in Kabul, to date, the United States has evacuated about 37,000 people from Afghanistan, Major General William Taylor said at a press conference on Monday.
Since July the number has risen to 42,000, and a source told CNN that there are still about 13,000 people in Kabul awaiting evacuation.
In addition, between this Sunday and Monday, 10,400 people were evacuated in 28 flights, a record for a 24-hour period and above the range of between 5,000 and 9,000 people a day expected.
The United States had said last week that it planned to evacuate up to 30,000 Afghan special visa applicants for immigration, in addition to its own diplomatic and security personnel, as well as people with legal and permanent residence in the United States.
But beyond these numbers, Caroline Van Buren, representative of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Afghanistan, told CNN's Robyn Curnow that between 20,000 and 30,000 people are already leaving the country weekly.
According to data from the agency, the displacement crisis has been affecting Afghanistan for four decades and so far in 2021 there are some 550,000 internally displaced persons.
In addition to the United States, other possible destinations for this new wave are Pakistan and Iran - countries that are already home to 2,215,445 Afghans - India, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Germany, among others.
While some Latin American countries - including Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador and Mexico - have offered to help the displaced, especially women and girls
With information from Germán Padinger, Mariana Toro Nader, Betsy Klein, Kylie Atwood, María Alejandra Requena, Sam Kiley, Nick Paton Walsh, Sheena McKenzie, Jennifer Hansler, Julia Hollingsworth, Nectar Gan and Steve George.
Taliban Terrorism