Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Posts tagged: Faryab

Faryab

Former Taleban shadow governor of Faryab, Qari Salahuddin Ayubi, (barefaced with black turban, sitting in the centre) used to be famous for mobilising fighters with fiery speeches in Uzbek. He was arrested by the NDS in September 2015. He was replaced by Mufti Muzafar. (photo: Taleban media)

Non-Pashtun Taleban of the North (2): Case studies of Uzbek Taleban in Faryab and Sar-e Pul

Obaid Ali •

The Taleban have spent many years ‘localising’ their fight in the north, recruiting local fighters and commanders and keying in to Afghan Uzbek madrassa networks in Pakistan and the north. That drive has paid off; in the Uzbek-majority provinces of Faryab and Sar-e Pul, the Taleban have gained significant ground against the government. In this […]

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A view of Musa Qala. Source: UK Forces blog (2010).

The Second Fall of Musa Qala: How the Taleban are expanding territorial control

Thomas Ruttig •

While Afghanistan’s northern provinces – mainly Kunduz, Faryab and Sar-e Pul – have been in the media’s focus on this year’s Taleban offensive, fighting in their southern Afghan strongholds has geared up too. Within one month the Taleban were able to capture two district centres in Helmand, Musa Qala (still contested) and Nawzad. This combines […]

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Security Forces Spread Thin: An update from contested Faryab province

Obaid Ali •

On the day after the Afghan vote, nearly unnoticed in the election frenzy, Faryab province experienced yet another complex Taleban attack. Taleban fighters stormed large parts of Qaisar district, and ruled the area for almost three weeks. The Afghan National Police (ANP) and Afghan Local Police (ALP) retreated immediately, outnumbered and faced with more and […]

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Turkmenistan Slowly Reacting To Instability On Afghan Border

AAN •

Eurasianet, 16 May 2014 Two of Obaid Ali’s AAN dispatches from Faryab (“A Taleban Foothold in the North” in 2012 and “a province under constant attack” in 2013) are quoted in this article, and the author asks: “So is this reason for concern for Turkmenistan?”

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Moving East in the North: Transitioned Faryab and the Taleban

Obaid Ali •

It took little more than seven months to turn Faryab from a province with a worrisome security situation into a province under constant attack. Since the Norwegian Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Faryab closed in September 2012, the security situation has quickly deteriorated. These days, Faryab is one of the main targets of the Taleban’s […]

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Fewer Deaths, But…: UNAMA’s 2012 Civilian Casualties Report (amended)

Kate Clark •

‘Civilian deaths in Afghan Conflict fall for the first time in six years’ was the good news top line of the new 2012 report by UNAMA on the protection of civilians. Fewer civilians were killed in suicide attacks, ground engagements and aerial attacks, said UNAMA. The Taleban remain responsible for bulk of civilian deaths, while […]

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Another Bombing in Faryab, and What That Says About Transition

Other AAN •

El Snarkistani’s blog, 6 February 2013 The outstanding blogger explains why a bomb in far-out Faryab is significant, and quotes from Obaid Ali’s Faryab blog of last November where he already has raised concern about insurgents’ gains in that province.

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A Taleban Foothold in the North: Faryab fighting up after transition

Obaid Ali •

While the attention of the Afghan government and the media is focused on major battles in the south of the country, the Taleban are making further headway in a northern region after the closure of the Norwegian PRT in September. In Faryab province, the Taleban have already established footholds in far-flung mountainous areas and are […]

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Kanda and Backyard Pools: Faryabi Ways of Coping with Water Shortages

Obaid Ali •

Only 27 per cent of Afghanistan’s population has access to safe water sources, according to the government in Kabul. Faryab, a province in the country’s north, is an example of where access to potable water causes major problems for the inhabitants. Storing water for dry periods has always been a challenge there. Now problems have […]

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Insurgents and Factions: Waves of insecurity rising in Faryab

Obaid Ali •

Faryab province has turned, in the past few years, into an area of serious concern in Northern Afghanistan. Tensions between different factions still run high. The Jowzjan-Faryab highway faces a dire lack of security, and, except for a few areas, police only appear on it during daylight. The establishment of Afghan Local Police (ALP) units […]

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Guest Blog: Andkhoi between Drought and Insurgency

Marga Flader •

The sale of government jobs, unexplained killings, abductions by the Taleban and a severe drought that has resulted in a nearly complete crop failure this year. It is difficult to say what is worse for the people in Andkhoi, the security situation or economic crisis, our guest blogger Marga Flader who works for a German […]

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