Five new groups join the fight against the Taliban* along with the Afghan National Resistance Front.
HINDU KUSH, March 28 - Sangar, Hasib Sangari. These groups have declared themselves in 34 provinces of Afghanistan, under different names, carrying out guerrilla attacks on the Taliban forces.
Sangar website's correspondent in the Hindu Kush reports that the first phase of the spring offensive against the Taliban has begun in Afghanistan and five new anti-Taliban movements have begun operations along with the National Resistance Front led by Ahmad Massoud.
Sangar represents these groups one by one according to available information:
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NATIONAL ISLAMIC MOVEMENT OF AFGHANISTAN (Tahrike Islami - millie ozodiye Afghoniston) - one of the first anti-Taliban groups that emerged in the province of Nangarhar, led by Abdulmatin Suleimankhel, a former officer in the Afghan army.
Mawlawi Khyber, a Taliban commander, also joined the movement, accusing the Taliban of collaborating with the Pakistani Intelligence Service (ISI).
Abdulmatin Suleimankhel, about 40 years old, a Pashtun from Shakardara district, Kabul province. During the Republic, he was commander of the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Brigade in the Eastern Region of the Special Forces of the Ministry of Defense of Afghanistan. In early 2020, Ghani's government fired him along with about 100 generals and army officers, prompting him to protest.
NIMA is currently active in the eastern and southern provinces. On March 26, militants of the movement blew up a mine, Mavlava Hanzala, a Taliban commander in the city of Lashkar Gah, Helmand province, as a result of which he died.
- AFGHANISTAN LIBERATION FRONT (Jabhae Azadiye Afghoniston). It is not known exactly who controls it, but according to unconfirmed reports, it is commanded by a well-known military figure, General Ahmad Yasin Zia.
Ahmad Yasin Zia is about 50 years old. He is a Tajik from Shakardara district, Kabul province. Zia was one of the commanders of Ahmad Shah Massoud during the First Resistance. During the republic time, he was the governor of the province of Takhar, later the deputy head of the National Security Directorate and the head of the General Staff of the Ministry of Defense of Afghanistan.
At present, the Liberation Front operates in the northern and eastern provinces of Takhar, Badakhshan, and central Parvan. On March 27, its members killed a Taliban commander in Badakhshan.
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NOOR FRONT (Jabhae Nur), also known as Ustad Atmohammad Noor's armed forces and Supreme Council of Resistance guerrillas. General Atomohammad Noor, better known as Ustad Atta, is a well-known political and military figure, the leader of the Islamic Jamiat of Afghanistan.
Ustad Atta is 52 years old and was born in Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of the Balkh province. He is a Tajik and was one of the commanders of Ahmad Shah Massoud during the Jihad and the First Resistance. At the time of the republic, he was the governor of Balkh for about 15 years and was considered one of the most influential governors of Afghanistan.
Its front is currently present in the provinces of Samangan, Gur, Sari-Pul, and Balkh. People associated with Ustad Atta told Sangar that their front had not yet begun to operate, but the wars in Samangan last December were purely defensive in nature. Dozens of Taliban and three fighters of Ustad Atta died in these wars.
- FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY FRONT (Jabhae Azadi va Mardomsalari), reportedly commanded by a young man named Kazem in the highlands of Bamiyan Province, unites Hazara youth. This is the first military front of the Hazaras, following the "idea of Mazari".
The video, released by Freedom and Democracy Front soldiers, shows the tricolor Afghan flag and the Hazaristan flag with a photo of the late Hazara leader Abdul Ali Mazari.
Abdul Ali Mazari was the leader of the Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan who was killed by the Taliban in 1996.
- FREEDOM CORPS (Sepahe Azadi). According to unconfirmed reports, is headed by Masoud Andarabi, a prominent military figure.
General Mohammad Masoud Andarabi is 42 years old, Tajik by nationality. Previously, he served as chief of the Afghan National Security Directorate and Minister of the Interior.
According to two videos released by the Freedom Corps soldiers, they operate in the province of Baghlan and areas around the Kokcha River in Takhar province - Rustaq, Chahab, Yangi Kala, and Darqad, and have carried out several operations against the Taliban.
In the meantime, statements and videos have been released from prominent figures and new factions expressing their support for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan. In one of these records, a former commando from the Afghan Ministry of Defense reports about 500 former commandos joining the NRFA.
Apparently, the speech of the leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan Ahmad Massoud on the occasion of the New Year 1401 had a profound impact on the country's society, which intensified the activities of the anti-Taliban fronts. He stated that he welcomed and supported all these fronts.
Earlier, Zala Zazai, a former Interior Ministry officer, and Sami Sadat, commander of the special forces of the former Afghan Ministry of Defense, declared their support for the NRFA.
The Taliban have not yet commented on these developments, but there are reports that their forces have abandoned their ranks in some parts of the provinces of Takhar and Baghlan. On the other hand, there are reports that the Taliban in Panjshir has begun redeploying forces and sending additional troops to the valley.
*Organization is under UN sanctions for terrorist activities.
