The Diplomat, 10 August 2020 Swiss freelancer Franz J Marty looks at claims of the Taleban that they do not have foreign fighters with them and counterclaims by Afghan authorities that there are many. He finds that there is “overwhelming evidence of the presence of at least some foreign fighters in Afghanistan that are in contact […]
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BBC, 1 August 2020 After a case that came up in Australia recently (and a steady stream in connection with US and, increasingly, Afghan forces), the BBC and a Sunday Times revealed evidence “of a pattern of illegal killings by UK Special Forces” while the government maintains that, in this case, the four members of […]
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BBC, 27 July 2020 An astounding report about solar power as a transformative technology, in the toughest environment possible, with no subsidies, no considering of climate change – just about small-scale entrepreneurs trying to make a profit: Afghan opium growers in Helmand. “For an upfront payment of $5,000 [farmers] can buy an array of solar […]
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Russia Matters, 22 July 2020 An excellent analysis Artemy M. Kalinovsky, professor of Russian, Soviet and post-Soviet studies at Temple University, of Russia’s interests in Afghanistan in the context of allegations of Russian bounty paying to Taleban to kill US soldiers. By 2016, Russian officials seem to have decided that there was little chance of the U.S. […]
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Washington Post, 13 July 2020 A very lively reportage from Kunar’s Taleban-controlled and empoverished Marawara district (which the LWJ map counts as ‘contested’). The access was facilitated by the Taleban. Projects a picture of Taleban commanders and fighters going for 100 per cent victory and the abolishment of the Ghani government. Which is not surprising, […]
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Ajam Media Collective, 12 July 2020 Author Chihab El Khachab at the University of Oxford has been digging deeper and deeper: On 27 August 1970, The Kabul Times announced that the “First Afghan Film Feature Premiered in Kabul Nandarey”, called Rozgārān. But the history of Afghanistan’s own film production goes further back, as this article shows. There […]
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Human Rights Watch, 30 June 2020 The latest Afghanistan report of the human rights organisations, based on interviews, looks at the practice on the following topics in Taleban-controlled areas: education for girls and women, freedom of expression and social restrictions, detention and punishment for government contacts, and criticism of the Taleban. From the summary: The […]
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The New Humanitarian, 24 June 2020 High coronavirus infection rates among health workers – and lopsidedly low numbers among women – are raising fears that Afghan women are missing out on healthcare while their exposure to the virus goes undetected.
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USIP, 1 June 2020 Our former colleague Borhan Osman’s latest report.
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Anadolu Agency, 28 May 2020 Russia’s presidential envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov in an exclusive interview with Turkish Anadolu Agency, with two interesting points: First, he said that the UN Security Council has not, as planned, voted on lifting sanctions from the Taleban in accordance with the February 2020 US-Taleban agreement on 29 May. He […]
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Washington Post, 27 May 2020 Not so much that there is also a scenario of larger than agreed (with the Taleban) or even full US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan is the news in this report, but how the US forces have already prepared for a full or nearly full withdrawal: Last year, Miller directed his […]
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FFI/UiO, 2 April 2020 This repository is based on a private collection, was established through the Taliban Sources Project (TSP) and launched online in 2020 by the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) in cooperation with the University of Oslo (UiO). It includes the movement’s cultural, social, and legal output for the years 1979-2011. It includes original documents – […]
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