Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Thomas Ruttig

No Good News: Afghan Civilian Casualties Still Increasing

AAN •

The Diplomat, 17 February 2016 Reporting the 2015 UNAMA civilian casualty support for Afghanistan, Catherine Putz quotes from Kate Clark’s analysis of the report for AAN: As Kate Clark for the Afghan Analysts Network points out, “The single biggest factor affecting the Afghan conflict in 2015 was the almost complete absence of international forces on the battlefield.” […]

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Die Verwilderung des Krieges

Thomas Ruttig •

dpa/Stuttgarter Nachrichten, 14 February 2016 A short quote from AAN’s Thomas Ruttig, commenting on the new rise of civilian casualty figures in Afghanistan as reported by the UN for 2015. He speaks about a “brutalisation of the war on all sides.”

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The Winter Storms of Northern Afghanistan

AAN •

Radio Azadi, 14 February 2016 Listen to AAN’s Obaid Ali in an audio of a radio roundtable discussion about insurgent networks in northern Afghanistan and their possible relations with Central Asia.

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Afghan courts said these ex-US detainees should be freed. Why weren’t they?

AAN •

Washington Post, 11 February 2016 Three non-Afghan men continue to languish in what was a US-run prison at Bagram air base and has now been handed over to Afghan authorities – and although the country’s highest courts have agreed they should be freed. In the text, AAN’s Kate Clark’s research on the subject is quoted: … about […]

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Kandahar's Red Mosque, said to have been Mullah Omar's favourite one. Foto: Thomas Ruttig (2005).

The New Taleban Deputy Leaders: Is there an obvious successor to Akhtar Mansur?

Thomas Ruttig •

Reports of the alleged killing of new Taleban leader Akhtar Mansur in December 2015 as well as his subsequent disappearance from public view have raised the question as to who might be next-in-line and whether there exists an internal, legitimate mechanism for succession. This question is all the more pressing given the continuing, albeit dwindling, […]

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Road to Achin, one of the districts with a Daesh presence. Photo: AAN (2015).

External AAN Publication: Daesh and Taleban in Afghanistan

Thomas Ruttig •

Oxford Analytica Daily Brief, 17 November 2015 Thomas Ruttig, “Afghan Taliban Contain Islamic States’ Regional Reach” Reported clashes between Islamic State group’s (ISG) fighters and Afghan security forces, and the appearance of ISG-style black flags, have raised concerns about the ISG threat in Afghanistan. However, many of the alleged sightings of ISG fighters are vague […]

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A Pipeline to South Asia Prosperity

AAN •

Foreign Policy, 9 February 2016 Interesting overview over the latest developments in the TAPI gas pipeline project involving Turkmenistan, Afghanistan (as transit country), Pakistan and India; about prospects for the Afghan economy deriving from it and all involved country’s energy needs.

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A View from Afghanistan Interview with Kate Clark of AAN

AAN •

Small Wars Journal, 4 February 2016 AAN’s Kate Clark talks with the NUG, Afghan forces, role of foreign forces, Af-Pak relations and answers a question on parallels with Najibullah’s fall in 1989 in an interview with SWJ web journal.

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Asesinado el pequeño héroe que luchaba contra los talibanes

AAN •

La Vanguardia, 3 February 2016 In this article in the Spanish daily about the killing of an 11-year old Afghan boy who had participated in the fighting against the insurgents, AAN’s Martine van Bijlert is quoted with her research about Uruzgan: La codirectora de la oenegé Afghanistan Analyst Network, Martine van Biljiert, ha documentado profusamente […]

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د ندي غوښو مېله چې کورنۍ او خپلوان ه يو ځای کوي

AAN •

Urband, Dalw 1394 (Jan/Feb 2015) Reprint, in the Pashto magazine Urband (“Ceasefire”, in English) of Fazl Muzhary’s AAN dispatch over the joy of producing and eating landai dry meat in the Afghan season, a feast that brings families and friends together (not online). A PDF version can be found here.    

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Taliban Blow Line Transmitting Uzbek Electricity to Kabul

AAN •

The Diplomat, 27 January 2016 Catherine Putz refers to two AAN pieces –by our former colleague Gran Hewad and by guest author Mohsin Amin – as background for her article about the Taleban blowing up the electricity transmission line to Kabul from Uzbekistan: As noted by Gran Hewad in an excellent piece for the Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN), […]

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The two Talibans and how they operate

AAN •

Express Tribune, 25 January 2016 Michael Semple’s comparison of the Afghan and Pakistani Taleban’s organisational structure, modus operandi and patterns of violence in the context of the Charsadda attack.

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