The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, American General Mark Milley, commented on the tense situation in Afghanistan. In his interview, Milley underlined that the situation in the war-torn country could evolve into a civil war.
Giving an interview to Fox News from Ramstein Air Base in Germany, Milley said, “My military estimate is that the conditions are likely to develop a civil war. I do not know if the Taliban is going to be able to consolidate power and establish governance.”
Under the circumstances that the Taliban fails to achieve it, the US general stated that such a situation could lead to a reemergence of Al Qaeda or resuscitate ISIS/Daesh or other numerous terrorist organizations in Afghanistan within a period of three years.
Milley’s remarks came as the Taliban and opposition Afghan forces are fighting to establish control over the Panjshir Valley in the north of Kabul, the last Afghan province that resists the group.
Although both sides issued statements claiming that they are advantageous in the province, none of them could present concrete evidence to back up their claims. Establishing dominance over most of the country in a couple of weeks following the end of US withdrawal, the Taliban could not establish control over the valley when they were in power in Afghanistan between 1996-2001, as well.
A Taliban spokesperson shared a message on his Twitter account, writing, “The Mujahideen (referring to Taliban fighters) are advancing toward the center of the province.” According to him, the Taliban captured the Khinj and Unabah districts, which means that the group gained control of four of the province’s seven districts.
However, an official from the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, a group loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud, stated that they beset “thousands of terrorists” in Khawak passageway, and the Taliban had left vehicles and equipment in the Dashte Rewak area.
Fahim Dashti, the National Resistance Front’s spokesperson, said, “heavy clashes are going on.”
Meanwhile, an Italian medical aid organization, Emergency, reported that the Taliban had advanced into the Panjshir Valley on Friday night and arrived the village of Anabah, where the Italian organization has medical facilities.
In the statement issued by the group, it was said, “We have received a small number of wounded people at the Anabah Surgical Center,” adding that many people fled in recent days.
