Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Thomas Ruttig

Peace but extreme poverty in isolated region of Afghanistan

AAN •

AP, 7 September 2016 A reportage from Wakhan in Afghanistan’s extreme northeast – an area characterised by deep poverty and now increasingly isolated: Just 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Ishkashim, the town at the entrance to the valley, the Taliban and other criminal groups control the world’s oldest lapis lazuli mines, in Warduj district. (…) The presence […]

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Third bomb strikes Kabul, Afghanistan

Thomas Ruttig •

CNN, 5 September 2016 This article about Monday’s two Taleban-clamied attacks in Kabul has a short quote from AAN’s Thomas Ruttig about the Taleban new leader Hibatullah Akhundzada: Experts describe Akhundzada as a religious scholar and a member of the Taliban’s founding generation. He was close to founding Taliban leader Mullah Omar, said Thomas Ruttig of […]

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Crisis Looms As Clock Winds Down On Afghan ‘Unity Government’ Deal

Thomas Ruttig •

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 4 September 2016 In this article looking at the balance and prospects of the Afghan national unity government (NUG), author Frud Bezhan quotes AAN’s Thomas Ruttig, among others: “The political system we will see for a while is the current one, bogged down in an adjourned game with no easy and constitutional […]

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In Search for Power, Afghanistan’s Hazara Community Vows to Fight On

Thomas Ruttig •

The Wire, 2 September 2016 This article in an Indian web magazin with the self-explanatory title has some quotes from AAN’s Thomas Ruttig: Thomas Ruttig, co-director of AAN, noted that the Enlightening Movement was certainly the largest social protest movement in terms of its mobilisation, but “there is also the issue of ethnic politicking, political […]

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Islamic State under pressure in Afghanistan

Thomas Ruttig •

Nikkei Asian Review, 31 August 2016 Ryskeldi Satke looks at the Afghan-Pakistani IS offshoot, which calls itself the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, for the Japanese outlet and quotes from AAN and AAN’s Thomas Ruttig: Afghanistan Analysts Network, a Kabul-based think tank that monitors political developments in the country, says ISKP has made “many enemies” […]

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[…] The discord between the country’s two top leaders…

AAN •

The Diplomat, 26 August 2016 Some strong statements from an Afghan point of view (and by an advisor to an Afghan ministry), not only into Dr Abdullah’s problems – but those of President Ghani and of Afghanistan as such under the NUG: “paralyzing rivalries waged by different groups, elite pacts, and ethnic movements”; “ethno-cultural differences and political […]

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An Afghan Feud Reignites, Putting Police Families at Odds

AAN •

New York Times, 27 August 2016 A rare report on non-insurgency and family feud-realted violnce, pitching high-ranking policemen supporting different sides in the NUG against each other – in a case where Afghan officials and media prefer even not to name names.

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Top Picks: Norway faces up to a harsh reality in Afghanistan

AAN •

IRIN, 26 August 2016 The Geneva-based (and formerly UN-linked) news agency has put Ann Wilkens’ AAN dispatch about Norway’s evaluation of its Afghanistan mission among this week’s top pick: The international community’s mission in Afghanistan has brought decidedly mixed results. A decade and a half after the Taliban regime was driven from power, a brutal […]

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Erfolg der Taliban in Afghanistan: Schleichende Einkreisung der Städte

Thomas Ruttig •

Tageszeitung, 23 August 2016 Op-ed by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig in the Berlin daily: Taleban attacks in eight provinces and takeover of more district centres shows that they – not the government forces – still have the initiative. Afghan soldiers complain about lack of supplies and coordination.

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Kämpfe um Kundus: Eine Stadt in Angst

AAN •

ARD, 22 August 2016 The prime time news of Germany’s leading TV channel ARD quotes AAN on Kunduz (in German): Im Juli waren bereits zwei weitere Distrikt-Hauptorte gefallen. In diesen Orten brach die öffentliche Verwaltung zusammen, die Beamten zogen sich zwischenzeitlich in ein Ausbildungszentrum für Lehrer sowie in ein nahe gelegenes Dorf zurück. Ein weiterer […]

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Armee erobert Bezirk in Kundus zurück

AAN •

dpa/sda, 22 August 2016 The dpa material on the latest Kunduz fighting, briefly quoting from a recent AAN analysis of the situation in the province by Lola Cecchinel (here in German), has been used by several newspapers, TV channels and websites in Germany (incl Handelsblatt, Bild, N24, Greenpeace-Magazin) and Switzerland (incl Tagesanzeiger, Der Bund, 20 […]

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Afghans Still Dispute Legacy Of Former ‘Bandit King’

AAN •

RFE/RL, 20 August 2016 Interesting article about the Afghan debate around King Habibullah II – aka (derogatorily) Bacha-ye Saqao – who overthrew reformer-King Amanullah in 1929. Another one on this subject here in the Washington Post.

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