Stars and Stripes, 17 May 2018
AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted in this article about the latest fighting in Farah:
The attacks on Farah are similar to Taliban offensives that captured the provincial capital of Kunduz in 2015, said Thomas Ruttig, co-director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network. (…)
“The Taliban have positioned themselves in Farah city’s suburbs for a long time, at least since 2016,” he said. “Their latest approach might be to expand from there into the cities themselves, as Afghan cities look more like villages in their outskirts, and the divide between city and countryside is not that clear.”
Hiding in the suburbs also means airstrikes against Taliban positions could lead to more civilian casualties, Ruttig added.
Revisions:
This article was last updated on 9 Mar 2020
