FILE - Afghan warlord and former mujahedeen leader Mohammed Ismail Khan addresses a gathering at his home in Herat, Afghanistan, July 9, 2021.
VOA: Battle Between Taliban, Afghan Government Now Seeing Return of Warlords
The beleaguered Afghan government is having to turn to veteran warlords to try to fend off the Taliban as international forces withdraw from the country.
The warlords return to playing a major military role is a key part of President Ashraf Ghani’s national mobilization plan to halt the Taliban’s nationwide offensive but is raising fears that at best it will lead to Afghanistan splintering once again into dueling local fiefdoms, setting the stage for a prolonged and messy civil war, mirroring what unfolded in the 1990s after the Soviet withdrawal.
A former top British army commander General Richard Barrons, told the BBC Monday he fears the country will be plunged into a decades-long civil war and dubbed the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan a “strategic mistake.” “I don't believe it's in our own interest,” he said.
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WNU Editor: It looks like the warlords are not up to the task .... Afghanistan: Taliban ransacks Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum's house, loots his weapons (ANI).
