Afghanistan: Army chief replaced as Taliban advance

The Afghan Government has replaced its army chief after losing over eight provincial capitals in a matter of days since the Taliban launched the second phase of their attack last Friday.

The Afghan army is busy defending Kandahar, Mazar-e-Sharif and Ghazni, three major cities which might fall into Taliban hands at any time.

The army’s morale already low from the surge of defeats would be affected by their chief’s removal. General Wali Mohammad Ahmadzai took the command in June and has already been removed.

The new chief will have to draft and lead a strategy that brings positive news for his men in order to boost their morale. He will have to act quickly as the Taliban won’t stop their offensive and may even propel it to further batter the army.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in response to the string of defeats was seen holding talks in Mazar-e-Sharif with infamous warlord, commander Rashid Dostum and Tajik leader Mohammad Noor on Wednesday. In a bid to end differences between the two and convince them to unite with the southern warlords in the fight against the Taliban. Dostum still adamant of gaining the lost ground back in the north where “the Taliban were always trapped [in the past],” he said.

Ashraf Ghani has already shown interest to arm pro-government militias that some believe would be led by Dostum’s men. With the militias, it seems the Afghan Government would make the moves of a key Taliban strategy, ambush and take strategic points while also acting as reinforcements for the army.

The pro-government militias will mostly be groups of a specific ethnicity, further raising fears of a civil war and ethnic cleansings.

Mazar-e-Sharif’s fall would mark the beginning of Taliban control over the North, further shattering the morale of the Afghan troops where their comrades would be seen surrendering as in Kunduz after the Taliban took control of the airport where the army corps was stationed.

The government is adamant of regaining control over Afghanistan and defeating the Taliban, but by all accounts it looks uncertain and millions would be displaced and hundreds of thousands might be killed.

Over 1000 civilians have been killed in Afghanistan in July, according to a UN report. These being the reported deaths and no one knows the real number of deaths. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced with the fall of the cities and as the fight rages on. The armament of militias might bring in some victories for the government but they would have no control over their actions and we may see a repeat of the ethnic cleansings that have always marred Afghanistan.

If the militias end up victorious then we may see a new beginning of Warlordism in Afghanistan, with each region or string or provinces under the control of a different warlord who “hates” the other and his people.