Month: August 2015

Jydske Vestkysten, 8 August 2015 The Danish daily quotes AAN’s Thomas Ruttig, via Reuters, on the latest wave of terrorist attacks in Kabul: Siden sidste uges melding om Taleban-lederen Mullah Mohammad Omars død har organisationen ellers været ramt af interne stridigheder – men det ser altså ikke ud til at have svækket handlekraften, efter terrorgruppen […]

8 Aug 2015

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Service member, 8 contractors killed in string of Kabul attacks

Stars and Stripes, 8 August 2015 AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted about what could be behind the series of attacks in Kabul on 7 August: “This is definitely a message,” said Thomas Ruttig, co-director of the Afghan Analysts Network. “The question is only from whom: are these attacks the policy of the new leadership which […]

8 Aug 2015

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The Taliban post-Mullah Omar – the Guardian briefing

AAN •

The Guardian, 6 August 2015 The British daily, in its Taleban dossier, lists reliable sources for background information and kindly writes, under ‘How do I find out more?’: For day-to-day developments, the Afghanistan Analysts Network has an unmatched team of experts on the ground in Kabul.

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The Cable situation report 6 August

AAN •

Foreign Policy (blog), 6 August 2015 In The Cable, a FP blog, Borhan Osman’s dispatch on the Murree talks is summarised: Borhan Osman of the Afghan Analysts Network has a fascinating look at some of the intra-Taliban politics behind the resignation of Syed Tayyeb Agha, the leader of the group’s political office in Qatar. According […]

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Die Taliban vor der Spaltung?

WoZ, 7. August 2015 In this guest article for the Zurich-based weekly, AAN’s Thomas Ruttig analyses the power struggle in the Taleban movement and its repercussions for peace talks (in German – and so far print only).

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New Taliban leader moves fast to heal split in Afghan insurgency

Daily Times, 6 August 2015 In what it calls a “staff report”, the Pakistani daily quotes from an AAN dispatch by Thomas Ruttig and, without direct citation, from one by Borhan Osman: Experts believe it would be premature to read too much into those comments. “If he’s playing to his own audience and trying to […]

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Highest Civilian Casualty Figures Ever: UNAMA details deaths by mortar, IED, suicide attack and targeted killing

Kate Clark •

UNAMA has published its mid-year assessment of the harm done to civilians by the warring parties in Afghanistan (full report here): the number of civilians killed and injured has risen again. There were 4921 civilian casualties, the highest number for the first half of any year since UNAMA started documenting them. 70 per cent were […]

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Kabul newspaper frontpage, showing three main protagonists of the latest Taleban saga (from l. to r.; Mansur Dadullah; Rahmani, allegedly Omar).

The Murree Process: Divisive peace talks further complicated by Mullah Omar’s death

Borhan Osman •

News of Mullah Omar’s death was leaked just a day before a second meeting between Taleban and Afghan government representatives was supposed to have taken place. The first meeting on 7 July near Islamabad, in Murree, initiated the so-called Murree Process. The revelation of Mullah Omar’s death and subsequent struggle for succession in the Taleban […]

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Líder talibán reconoce presencia de pugnas internas

Prensa Latina, 5 August 2015 It looks that the official Cuban news agency has quotes AAN for the first time, on the power struggle in the Taleban. it quotes AAN’s Thomas Ruttig (correctly) saying that the Taliban are facing the threat of a split over the issue of peace talks: Para Thomas Ruttig, experto de […]

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Contesté, le nouveau chef des taliban afghans tente le pragmatisme

Le Nouvel Observateur, 5 August 2015 AAN’s Thomas Ruttig quoted here, on his 2001 meeting with Mulla Mansur: Thomas Ruttig, codirecteur du réseau Afghanistan Analysts Network, a rencontré Mansour en 2000 quand il était ministre de l’Aviation. Il dit avoir gardé l’impression d’un homme intelligent, à l’esprit vif et qui était prêt à s’exprimer de façon plus […]

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New Taliban leader moves fast to heal rifts in Afghan insurgency

Reuters, 5 August 2015 In this article about the Taleban power struggle, AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted on the new leader’s first message: “If he’s playing to his own audience and trying to consolidate his position, it wouldn’t make much sense to make announcements about seeking peace at the moment, as the peace talks issue […]