The remnants of the overthrown Afghan Taliban movement are increasing their influence on the situation in Afghanistan and have actually seized power in some areas. This is stated in the report of the UN Deputy Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guehenno, which he read at the UN Security Council, reports BBC News.

According to him, the Taliban control the local administration, in particular, in some areas of the provinces of Paktika and Kandahar. Government troops do not have sufficient capacity to cope with the increased activity of the Taliban, who are assisted by members of the al-Qaeda movement. Militants take refuge both in the Afghan border provinces and in the adjacent territories of Pakistan and systematically carry out sabotage against both Afghan security forces and civilians. As reported, the day before, a group of Taliban seized several cars on one of the roads and began beating the people in them for their “inappropriate” appearance and behavior.

International peacekeepers in the region, in particular American ones, cannot cope with the situation, despite regular joint raids against militants. The day before, Germany announced its intention to send an additional 450 of its troops to deploy near the city of Kunduz in the north of the country.

On Friday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced the start of a special program to disarm the population, reform the armed forces and recruit new personnel. According to the UN, currently in Afghanistan about 400 thousand people have weapons and participate in any formations. A UN-sponsored disarmament campaign is already underway in the country - people who surrender their weapons are offered some sums of money, clothing and food stamps in exchange.

Many leaders of local armed groups do not want their people to disarm, and the situation remains tense. In particular, as reported, the day before in the north of Afghanistan in the province of Samangan, where there was no militant activity for a long time, ten civilians were killed during shelling from an ambush.

The Taliban is revived and seizes parts of Afghanistan