Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: July 2015

From Mullah Omar to Mansur: Change at the Taleban’s top leadership

Thomas Ruttig •

After almost two days of silence, the Taleban have finally admitted that their supreme leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar Mujahed, as they call him, has died. On 31 July 2015, they also announced the appointment of Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansur, previously Omar’s deputy, as their new leader. Reportedly, this also includes the key title of amir […]

War and Peace Read more

Mullah Mansoor’s rise to the Taliban leadership

Thomas Ruttig •

Deutsche Welle, 31 July 2015 In an article about the new Taleban leader Mullah Mansur, AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted: Mansoor, on the other hand, is famous for his pro-peace stance, but lacks Omar’s aura and is less attractive for the younger Taliban crop. “He will not have the same unifying power as Mullah Omar […]

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Der neue Taliban-Chef steht vor einer Revolte

Thomas Ruttig •

Die Welt, 31 July 2015 The German conservative daily, in an article looking at the death of Mullah Omar, carries longer quotes from AAN’s Thomas Ruttig. Here the gist of them: The differences in the post-Mullah Omar Taleban leadership are not only about whether but under which auspices possible peace talks should be held – […]

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Mullah Mansoor’s rise to the Taliban leadership

Thomas Ruttig •

Deutsche Welle, 31 July 2015 German foreign radio quotes from an interview with AAN’s Thomas Ruttig, on the new Taleban leader Mullah Mansur and the future of peace talks: “He will not have the same unifying power as Mullah Omar had. He is not a founding member of the group,” Thomas Rüttig [sic], co-director and […]

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Mullah Omar’s death: Will it make a difference in Afghan conflict?

AAN •

Christian Science Monitor, 30 July 2015 In this analysis repercussions of Mullah Omar’s death, also looking back at early failures of the US, an earlier AAN report by Anand Gopal is quoted, that in the immediate aftermath of the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, “[t]hese leading Taliban members [as well as the rank and file] […]

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Dva roky ho nikto nevidel. Je vodca Talibanu mŕtvy?

Thomas Ruttig •

Pravda, 30 July 2015 The leading Slovak daily quotes AAN’s Thomas Ruttig about the Mullah Omar succession in the Afghan Taleban: “Udržiaval hnutie pokope. Dával mu aj náboženskú legitimitu,“ povedal z Kábulu o Omarovi Thomas Ruttig z Analytickej siete Afganistanu. “Ak sa správa o jeho smrti ukáže ako pravdivá, čo teraz nevieme, bude to znamenať aj to, že v rámci […]

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Taliban leader Mullah Omar is dead, says Afghan government

AAN •

The Guardian, 29 July 2015 AAN’s Borhan Osman is quoted here on the – then still unconfirmed – reports of Mullah Omar’s death: “The movement has been vulnerable to fractures and this tendency would accelerate,” said Borhan Osman, a Kabul-based analyst with expertise in the Taliban who said that he was still hesitant to believe […]

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Afghan officials prepare comment amid reports of Taliban leader death

AAN •

Los Angeles Times and Tampa Bay Times, 29 July 2015 AAN’s Borhan Osman is quoted as saying: “Islamic State and other radical groups who are antipolitical will benefit from Mullah Omar’s death,” said Borhan Osman, a Kabul-based researcher with the independent Afghanistan Analysts Network.

AAN in the Media Read more

Afghan talks: Tough demands make peace deal unlikely

Thomas Ruttig •

Deutsche Welle, 29 July 2015 A short quote in this article of AAN’s Thomas Ruttig on the prospects for Afghan peace talks: Thomas Ruttig, co-director and co-founder of the Afghanistan Analysts Network, believes …  there is a “very long and complicated way ahead.” “There is no guarantee the process will yield a positive result, but it […]

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IS macht den Taliban in Afghanistan Konkurrenz

AAN •

SRF, 22 July 2015 A website article with audio by Swiss Radio about the relationship between the Taleban and the IS/Daesh, with quotes and audio statements of AAN’s Borhan Osman: Today, the IS in Afghanistan is a reality, says  Borhan Osman. he monitors radical groups in the country for the research institute Afghanistan Analyst[s] Network . […]

AAN in the Media Read more
The German expedition members also gave medical treatment to the local Nuristani population. Photo from: Herrlich, Land des Lichtes (1938).

The Hunt for the Holy Wheat Grail: A not so ‘botanical’ expedition in 1935

Thomas Ruttig •

AAN has just reported about an area in Central Afghanistan, the Shah Foladi in the Koh-e Baba mountain range, that was recently declared a new conservation area for its botanical diversity. This reminded AAN’s co-director Thomas Ruttig of a first ‘botanical’ expedition – 80 years ago, in 1935 – to another isolated mountainous region of […]

Context and Culture Read more

Protecting Beauty: Shah Foladi – a new conservation area for Afghanistan

Kate Clark •

Afghanistan has a new protected conservation area – the Shah Foladi: 2,700 square kilometres on the north side of the Koh-e Baba range of the Hindu Kush in Bamyan province. This mix of irrigated valleys, upland rangeland and high peaks is important for wildlife (270 species of birds, including many seasonal migrants, and many flowering […]

Economy, Development, Environment Read more

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