The Taliban has captured the city of Sheberghan, the second Afghan provincial capital to fall to the armed group in less than 24 hours, the city’s deputy governor said.
Qader Malia, the deputy governor of Sheberghan in Jawzjan province, said on Saturday that government forces and officials had retreated to the airport on the outskirts of the northern Afghan city, where they were preparing to defend themselves.“The city has unfortunately fallen completely,” Malia told the AFP news agency. “The [government] forces and officials have retreated to the airport.”
Al Jazeera’s Charlotte Bellis, reporting from the Afghan capital Kabul, said the situation on the ground is nuanced and fluid.
“The Taliban put out a statement saying they have taken the city of Sherbegan and therefore the province of Jawzjan. They said this happened earlier this afternoon,” Bellis said.
“The government is denying the Taliban have a taken full control of the city. The Ministry of Interior have told us they are going to launch a counter-offensive, that they are sending reinforcement, special forces and have started air strikes,” Bellis added.
Provincial councillor Bismillah Sahil said the Taliban fighters had taken over key buildings such as the governor’s office, the police headquarters and the central prison in the city.
However, the pro-government forces were still holding some areas inside the city such as the airport and an army brigade, according to Mohammad Karim Jawzjani, a parliamentarian who represents Jawzjan.
The city is home to notorious strongman Abdul Rashid Dostum, who returned to Afghanistan this week only after medical treatment in Turkey.
Dostum has overseen one of the largest militias in the north, which garnered a fearsome reputation in its fight against the Taliban in the 1990s – along with accusations that his forces massacred thousands of prisoners of war.
On Saturday, Dostum held a meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the presidential palace.
