"Taliban" Captures Afghan Provincial Capital Zaranj
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The Afghan provincial capital, Zaranj, capital of southern Nimruz province, falls in the hands of the "Taliban" causing the Afghan government a major setback.
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"Taliban" takes control of the first Afghan provincial capital.
The "Taliban" movement took control of an Afghan state's capital for the first time since it launched a military attack on the Afghan regions, coinciding with the end to a 20 year occupation by foreign forces, stated a senior government official on Friday.
"The city of Zaranj, the capital of Nimroz state, has fallen into the hands of the Taliban," the deputy governor of Nimroz province, Ruh Gul Khairzad, told AFP.
Today, Friday, the United Nations envoy to Afghanistan questioned the Taliban’s commitment to a political settlement, telling the UN Security Council the war has entered a “deadlier and more destructive phase” with thousands killed in the past month.
“A party that was genuinely committed to a negotiated settlement would not risk so many civilian casualties, because it would understand that the process of reconciliation will be more challenging, the more blood is shed", Deborah Lyons said.
“The Security Council must issue an unambiguous statement that attacks against cities must stop now,” Lyons told the 15-member council via video link from Kabul.
Moreover, the representative of the Kabul government, who requested the Security Council meeting, stressed that the situation "is rapidly deteriorating due to the recent escalation of violence by the Taliban and the brutal military attacks on important cities".
This morning, the Afghan Ministry of Interior announced the assassination of the government's media department head in Kabul, days after the Taliban threatened it would be targeting senior officials in response to the intense bombardment against its members.
Yesterday, the Afghan Ministry of Defense announced that 50 Taliban fighters got killed in airstrikes and military operations in the days-old battle of Helmand.
The ministry also reported the killing of more than 60 Taliban militants in air raids on the outskirts of the city of Jawzjan.
In the past three months, Taliban fighters intensified clashes with Afghan forces and attacked militias allied with the government, stretching their dominance of border towns and two provincial capitals, according to officials.
