What happened to Panjshir in Afghanistan?

What happened to Panjshir in Afghanistan?

On 6 September, the Taliban took control of most of the Panjshir province, with resistance fighters retreating to the mountains to continue fighting within the province….Panjshir conflict.

Date 17 August 2021 – present (3 months, 3 weeks and 6 days)
Status Ongoing
Territorial changes Taliban captures most of the Panjshir Valley

Why is Panjshir Valley so important?

The valley is perhaps best known for its most famous son, Ahmad Shah Massoud, the Lion of Panjshir. A commanding Mujahideen fighter, Massoud successfully mobilised the people of the region to resist both occupation from the Soviets and later the Taliban.

Can Taliban take over Panjshir Valley?

The Taliban never managed to control Panjshir the last time they ruled Afghanistan, from 1996 to 2001, and it was the launching point for the U.S.-led invasion after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon.

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What is Panjshir Afghanistan?

Panjshir (Dari/Pashto: پنجشیر, literally “Five Lions”, also spelled as Panjsher and Panjsheer) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country containing the Panjshir Valley. The province is divided into seven districts and contains 512 villages.

What happened Panjshir Valley?

It was the site of the Panjshir offensives fought by the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and the Soviets against the mujahideen during the Soviet–Afghan War from 1980 to 1985, when local commander Ahmad Shah Massoud successfully defended the valley.

Why was the Taliban created?

The early Taliban were motivated by the suffering of the Afghan people, which they believed was being caused by the power struggles which were being waged by rival Afghan groups which were not adhering to the moral code of Islam; in their religious schools, they had been taught to believe that they should strictly …

Why is Panjshir so hard to conquer?

Panjshir is a long, narrow valley girded on either side by steep mountains, with only one major point of exit and entry when approaching from Kabul, topography that makes it difficult to conquer because incoming militaries are forced to approach through a narrow gorge.

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Who is resisting Taliban in Afghanistan?

Ahmad Massoud
They are led by Ahmad Massoud, the 32-year-old son of former Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud, nicknamed the “Lion of Panjshir” for his efforts to resist Taliban rule in the 1990s.

When was Kabul captured by Taliban?

August 15
Despite the US and NATO pouring of hundreds of billions of dollars to build up the Afghan security force, the Taliban seized nearly all of Afghanistan in just over a week. On August 15, the Taliban took over Kabul.

Why is it called Panjshir?

The name Panjshir, literally meaning “Five Lions”, refers to five Wali (literally, protectors), highly spiritual brothers who were centered in the valley. Local legend has it that the five brothers built a dam for Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni in the early 11th century AD.

How far inside the Panjshir Valley have Taliban breached?

One of the videos from September 6 showed Taliban presence almost 37 km inside Panjshir. Another video from September 6 showed a Taliban convoy and armed men on the streets. The geolocation of this video puts the Taliban at least 60 km inside Panjshir.

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Is the Panjshir Valley Afghanistan’s last holdout?

The Panjshir Valley is Afghanistan’s last remaining holdout where anti-Taliban forces seem to be working on forming a guerrilla movement to take on the Islamic fundamentalist group.

Where is the Panjshir Valley?

After the Taliban’s swift seizure of power in Afghanistan, the Panjshir Valley in the northern part of the country remains the last remaining holdout.

Why is the Panjshir River so important to Afghanistan?

The only access point to the region is through a narrow passage created by the Panjshir River, which can be easily defended militarily. Famed for its natural defenses, the region tucked into the Hindu Kush mountains never fell to the Taliban during the civil war of the 1990s, nor was it conquered by the Soviets a decade earlier.

Who are the Taliban and the Tajik people?

Famed for its natural defenses, the region tucked into the Hindu Kush mountains never fell to the Taliban during the civil war of the 1990s, nor was it conquered by the Soviets a decade earlier. Most of the valley’s up to 150,000 inhabitants belong to the Tajik ethnic group, while the majority of the Taliban are Pashtuns.