Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: April 2017

Afghan Jihad Frozen in Time? A visit to Hezb-i Islami in the field

Martine van Bijlert •

The Diplomat, 25 April 2017 This article on a visit to a Hezb-e Islami front in the mountains in Shigal, Kunar – “a remote place in an already remote province in an already remote country” – quotes Thomas Ruttig of “the renown Afghanistan Analysts Network” on how Hezb-e Islami has evolved over the years: According to […]

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“Inget hopp om att det snart ska bli fredligt” – afghaner oroar sig då landets armé är hårt pressad

Martine van Bijlert •

Yle Nyheter, 24 April 2017 AAN’s Kate Clark is quoted on the role of corruption and government weakness as the Taleban are expanding their areas of control: – Det är nu afghanernas ansvar att förbättra säkerheten, men för tillfället tar talibanerna allt mer kontroll över Afghanistan, säger Kate Clarke som är analytiker i Kabul vid ”Afghan […]

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Terrorist suspects detained and being posed for the cameras. But what will there fate be? New UN report finds a rise in the use of torture by the Afghan state against conflict-related detainees (Photo: Pahjwok)

Torture as Prevalent as Ever: New UN report finds no end to impunity for Afghan torturers

Kate Clark •

UNAMA’s latest two-yearly report on the use of torture by the Afghan state shows an increase in the proportion of conflict-related detainees who were tortured, compared to 2015, when UNAMA last reported. There has been, it said, no end to the “pervasive culture of impunity” for those carrying out torture. As AAN’s Kate Clark reports, […]

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Large Attack on a Military Base, and Other News About Afghanistan

Thomas Ruttig •

Daily Kos, 23 April 2017 The – according to its own information – liberal news website with the widest reach in the US puts Thomas Ruttig’s AAN dispatch about  governor Atta Muhammad’s ambitions for both the Jamiat leadership and the presidency among its most important current Afghan news.

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Gefährliche Geständnisse Flüchtlinge Tausende Afghanen haben sich in Deutschland als Taliban offenbart – jetzt kommen die ersten vor Gericht.

Thomas Ruttig •

Spiegel, 17/2017 (22 April 2017) The leading German weekly news magazine reports about the “thousands of cases” (possibly an exaggerated number) of Afghan asylum seekers that claimed to have been Taleban fighters in order to avoid being deported back to their country, with the result of being investigated for their membership in a terrorist organisation, […]

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Donald Trump’s Afghanistan ‘mother of all bombs’ shows US President’s interventionist side, experts say

Martine van Bijlert •

ABC News (Australia), 20 April 2017 AAN’s Kate Clark is quoted on the “information blackout” after the US bomb on Achin, how this might help ISKP’s recruitment and how US President Trump might treat Afghanistan going forward: Kate Clark, director of the independent Afghan Analysts’ network, said there had been an “information blackout” from Achin, the […]

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Afghanistan’s Record on Torture to Come under UN Scrutiny

Kate Clark •

On 25 and 26 April 2017, Afghanistan’s record on torture will be reviewed by a committee of experts under the auspices of the Convention Against Torture (CAT). The CAT Committee will hear from the government, United Nations human rights officials and NGOs before making recommendations. In the weeks leading up to the committee meeting, the government […]

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US troops battling Daesh near site of Afghan bomb strike

Martine van Bijlert •

GEO TV, 20 April 2017 Article based on Reuters’ reporting of the aftermath of the US’ Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb quotes AAN’s Kate Clark: Residents in Achin district say that they knew of no civilians still living voluntarily in the areas near the Islamic State stronghold, but it is still not clear if other […]

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Afghan tribal leaders praise US for ‘Mother of all bombs’ strike, saying it has ‘pulled ISIS out by the roots from the region’ and ‘finished off a huge threat to our people’

Martine van Bijlert •

Daily Mail, 20 April 2017 Article based on Reuters’ reporting on the aftermath of the US’ Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb (but seemingly more celebratory than the original) quotes AAN’s Kate Clark: Residents in Achin district say that they knew of no civilians still living voluntarily in the areas near the Islamic State stronghold, but […]

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La superbomba del “nuevo sheriff del pueblo”

Martine van Bijlert •

Proceso, 18 April 2017 Interview with AAN’s Martine van Bijlert in the Mexican weekly Proceso on the Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb that was dropped in Achin by the US. “La guerra de Afganistán es quizás una guerra olvidada en los medios de comunicación internacionales, pero continúa. El ejército de Estados Unidos permanece en Afganistán. […]

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What did the ‘monster of all bombs’ target in Afghanistan?

Martine van Bijlert •

DNA (India), 17 April 2017 Another article that references AAN’s writing on ISKP when discussing the ‘Mother of All Bombs’ that was dropped on Achin: However, the question that needs to be asked is, what exactly is the ISKP in Afghanistan and what warranted such a military strike by Washington D.C.? “The IS fighters who […]

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I vantan på nasta krig: På besok hos hezb-i-islami-i-afghanistans berg

Thomas Ruttig •

Blank Spot Project (Sweden), 16 April 2017 In this article by Franz Marty, reporting from Kunar about Hezb-e Islami, AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted on the general military relevance of the party after 2001 and on its relation, in eastern Afghanistan, with the Taleban: Enligt Thomas Ruttig, på Afghanistan Analysts Network, har endast vissa delar av Hezbi-i […]

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