The Taliban conquer with blood and fire the last province that faced them in Afghanistan

By Kathy Gannon - The Associated Press

After weeks of heavy fighting, the Taliban took control of Panshir province, north of Kabul, the fundamentalist group reported Monday.

That region was the last stronghold of the opposition forces in Afghanistan and the only region that they had not seized when they conquered the country in a blitzkrieg in August.

Thousands of Taliban fighters seized all eight Panshir districts overnight,

according to area witnesses who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid issued a statement on Monday saying that Panshir is under the control of his fighters.

"We did our best to solve this problem through dialogue, and they rejected negotiations,

so we had to send our forces to fight

," Mujahid said in Kabul.

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The anti-Taliban fighters were led by the former vice president, Amrullah Saleh, and the son of an iconic anti-Taliban fighter, Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was killed just days before the September 11 attacks on the United States.

Meanwhile, at least four planes chartered to evacuate hundreds of people seeking to escape the Taliban have been unable to leave the country

, authorities said Sunday.

There are conflicting versions of the motive, while the pressure on the United States increases to help these people.

An Afghan official at the airport in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif said the potential passengers were Afghans and most did not have a passport or visa, so they could not leave the country. 

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Located in the Hindu Kush Mountains, the Panshir Valley is only accessible by a strait.

Local fighters contained the Soviets there in the 1980s, and also the Taliban a decade later under Massoud's leadership.

Massoud's son Ahamd issued a statement on Sunday calling for a halt to the attacks that had escalated in recent days.

Britain-educated Massoud said his troops were ready to lay down their arms if the Taliban agreed to end their offensive

.

Hours later, dozens of Taliban vehicles were seen entering the Panshir Valley.

There was no immediate statement from Saleh, the former vice president of Afghanistan who proclaimed himself interim president when Ashraf Ghani fled the country on August 15 as the Taliban arrived at the gates of the capital.

Military vehicles in Panshir, Afghanistan, August 25, 2021.AP

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In his statement, Mujahid tried to assure the people of Panshir that they would be safe, even as several families fled into the mountains before the arrival of the Taliban.

"We assure the honorable people of Panshir

that they will not suffer any discrimination, we are all brothers

, and that we will serve the country and common goals," Mujahid said.

"There is no need to continue fighting," Mujahid added, "all the people of Panshir and those who live in Panshir are our brothers and they are part of our country."

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The Taliban stepped up their attacks on Panshir on Sunday,

saying on Twitter that their forces had occupied the Rokha district, one of the largest in the province.

Several Taliban delegations had tried to negotiate there, but there was never much progress.

Fahim Dashti, the spokesman for the opposition group, was killed in combat on Sunday, according to the group's Twitter account.

Dashti was the voice of the group and a recognized media figure in previous governments.

He was also the nephew of Abdullah Abdullah, a senior former government official who is involved in negotiations over the future of Afghanistan.

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Mujahid denied that Dashti was killed in the battle with the Taliban and claimed that he was killed in an "internal dispute between two commanders in Panjshir", without offering any evidence to support that claim.

Mujahid also told reporters that the Taliban would announce a new government "in a few days," and that it would be inclusive, but did not provide further details.

When the government is formed, members of the former Afghan army and security forces will be asked to return to work, he added.

"We need your experience," he said.

Members of the former Afghan security forces will join Taliban fighters to form a single army, Mujahid added.

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Plainclothes Taliban fighters traveling in vans through Kabul will be replaced by uniformed Taliban men.

When asked what rights women would have under the Taliban, Mujahid promised that all women will eventually be "asked to return" to their jobs.

The Taliban have claimed that there are "security reasons" for the slow return of Afghan women to their jobs and for them to stay home and only go out accompanied by a male guardian, but have not elaborated. Many of those who remember his government are skeptical of these statements.