Juma Khan Fateh, a disgruntled Taliban commander who had clashed with non-local fighters of the group in Nusay district of Badakhshan last Tuesday, was transferred to Faizabad today by a Taliban helicopter. Meanwhile, the process of disarming the forces under his command is proceeding intensively.
A local source says that Juma Khan’s men have gathered in the Qoghz area and are surrendering their weapons to Taliban forces who arrived in the area along with the group’s district governor.
Another source says: “Nasim, one of Juma Khan’s prominent men, was killed last evening, and one of the pressures on the people of Qoghz to surrender was the belief that the Pashtun Taliban would not let anyone survive and that they must accept the Taliban’s conditions. Currently, all the elders of the village have also gone to Nusay to see Fasihuddin.”
Another source in Nusay says: “Juma is a self-interested and short-sighted person. When his own interests are at stake, he does not accept anyone’s word. Fasihuddin has come with millions of Afghans and has also bribed Juma’s commanders with money. Juma, for his part, has demanded a guarantee for ten members of his family.”
Meanwhile, a Taliban fighter speaking in Pashto, while filming a video of Fateh’s transfer by helicopter, says: “On this aircraft is Juma Khan Fateh, who has surrendered. He had rebelled against the Islamic system and was forced to surrender by special forces.”
Another Taliban fighter, in a recorded video, shows the vehicle carrying Juma Khan Fateh and says that he has surrendered to the group’s forces.
Another audio recording has also been obtained by the Hasht-e Subh Daily, in which a Taliban fighter says in Pashto: “I am in the mountains and WhatsApp does not work here. Heavy fighting took place yesterday during the afternoon prayer; we seized three DShK machine guns, two Dragunov rifles, and their motorcycles, and Fasihuddin has arrived, and Juma Khan is surrendering.”
Meanwhile, another source says: “During the clashes, seven local Taliban fighters were killed, and 13 others were wounded. The forests and agricultural produce of the local population also caught fire, causing enormous losses to the people during this period. Markets were closed, people’s trade suffered a downturn, and dozens of mine workers were trapped amid the fighting.”
Sources had previously said that during the clashes between the two sides, more than two thousand workers from the Kolakhm, Washnishahr, Arward, Wajam-e Bala, and Argas mines in Nusay district were trapped and faced a severe risk of starvation.
At the same time, 2,500 mine workers in Shaki district and other districts of Badakhshan, at the Dehkhah, Zangaria, Maymayk, Shirin-e Nazm, and Qataqtai mines, were trapped amid the fighting. Sources had said at the time that these workers had no access to food and other necessities to continue working, and that in the past few days, some of them were killed by Taliban special forces while trying to obtain food.
According to sources, these workers say they had spent large sums of money to extract gold, but their activities have now been halted because of harassment by non-local forces, leaving them with enormous financial losses. They stressed that the workers had been warned not to leave their work sites; otherwise, they would be killed.
Previously, a video of a mine worker who was caught amid Taliban gunfire was published on social media and provoked widespread reactions. In the video, the worker says: “Do not shoot, Mullah Sahib! We are workers; we have no guns; we are civilians, civilians. Do not shoot, Qari Sahib! Do not shoot; we are civilians and workers. We have gone hungry; where should we go? We have no bread; what should we eat? Look, there is nothing in my hands. We fled the area; the area is a war zone.”
Previously, residents of Nusay district in Badakhshan had accused the Taliban of committing “war crimes” and mistreating civilians. They had claimed that the Taliban used “82mm mortars” and fired on villages, targeting civilians. They also said that the Taliban had used suicide drones, which have so far killed and wounded several mine workers.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
پایان درگیریهای طالبان در بدخشان؛ جمعهخان فاتح چگونه تسلیم شد؟
