Uprising fighters
In some areas of southern and eastern Afghanistan, a small-scale uprising against the Taliban has been emerging since the beginning of the summer. The anti-Taliban uprising is a response to the Taliban's closure of schools and hospitals.
In a report from eastern Afghanistan, Al-Jazeera TV reported that elders of four villages decided in May 2012 to fight against the Taliban after the militants burned a home and in response to the closure of schools and clinics. The anti-Taliban fighters are united under the banner of the National Uprising Movement.
According to an Afghan website, another report from southern Ghazni province indicates that at least three districts have seen anti-Taliban uprisings after schools were closed due to militant threats. These districts include Andar and Deh Yak.
Following is the transcript of the Al-Jazeera report:[1]
Uprising Leader Lutfullah Kamran: "Schools, Our Clinic, Our Roads, Our Hospitals, Our Markets, Everything Was Closed [By Taliban]"; "The Only Choice We Had Was To Start An Uprising"
Uprising leader Engineer Lutfullah Kamran (right)
"They look like Taliban fighters, but they are Afghans fighting the Taliban. They call themselves the National Uprising Movement, it started three months ago, and [the leader of the uprising] Engineer Lutfullah Kamran said the Taliban was preventing progress for the Pashtun people.
Lutfullah Kamran: "'Schools, our clinics, our roads, our hospitals, our markets, everything was closed. We feel like we are slaves. No one cares about us; not the government, not the Taliban. The only choice we had was to start an uprising.'
"[There are four] villages under the control of the National Uprising fighters. They say at first there were only a few fighters. There are now several hundred spread over four villages. They say the people here support them. [An old man says]: 'I'm happy to give up my life and my wealth for them.'
"The commander [Lutfullah Kamran] says the Taliban have them surrounded and the fighting is intensifying. This week [in third week of June 2012] the Taliban burnt a local home…. [A village woman] says she begged the Taliban to search the house [to check] that no one was home, but the Taliban doused it with fuel and set it on fire. She burned her feet trying to rescue the Koran but could not save it.
"The men originally tried to fight with the Taliban against the Americans, if the Taliban would reopen schools, the clinic, the market…. The Taliban refused, saying surrender or fight. The villagers' decision was swift [in favor of fighting against the Taliban]."
Tribal Elder Juma Gul: "One Of My Sons Became A Martyr; I Have Brought Four More To Fight And I Will Keep Fighting Until We Are All Dead"
Tribal elder Juma Gul: "'One of my sons became a martyr. I have brought four more to fight and I will keep fighting until we are all dead.'
"The commander [Lutfullah Kamran] calls the Taliban on his radio. He can hear them, but there's no response. The Taliban say they want to avoid bloodshed and have appointed a delegation to negotiate with the [uprising] movement. [The Taliban say that the] Taliban fighters who burned the home are being punished….
"Former Taliban members are among the new group, and claims the group is supported by the Afghan government and the U.S. Embassy. [Lutfullah] Kamran says that is not true. That he would fight the Americans, but his first priority is securing his people's future."
Lutfullah Kamran: "'There was a time when seven to eight thousand students graduated a year, now only two to three hundred students are graduating a year [because of the lawlessness caused by the Taliban]. That's why we are fighting them, to save the next generation.'
"The weapons and the motorcycle transport give them the appearance of the Taliban, but these Afghans have decided they must fight for the rights the Taliban and the government has failed to give them."
Afghan Website: Uprising Against Taliban Spreads In Ghazni Province
In Afghanistan's southern Ghazni province, residents in some districts have risen up against the Taliban in protest of the militant attacks on schools and lawlessness. According to a report on the Afghan website pajhwok.com, the anti-Taliban uprising has spread from Andar to the district of Deh Yak in the province.[2]
An Afghan official in Ghazni city, speaking in the first week of June 2012, said that several tribal elders have died in the popular uprising against the Taliban militants in the Taliban-infested Andar district, where schools have been closed after threats from the militants.
Ghazni Governor Musa Khan Akbarzada said that in the morning of June 2 the infuriated people of Deh Yak district also took up arms against the Taliban militants, demanding that the schools reopen immediately.
The governor said, "In order to deal with the current situation, I call upon all Afghans to stand up and be counted. This is the best way to salvation and prosperity…. The public uprising would not only benefit the two districts, it would also help improve security in other parts of the country."
Mohammadullah, a resident of the Walangiz area of Deh Yak, also confirmed the armed struggle against the Taliban in the two districts. The people want immediate access to health and education facilities, he said, adding that the locals would not allow anyone to foment trouble. "On May 30, residents clashed with the fighters in our area. This morning, a similar fight erupted in the village," he said.
Another resident, Khan Wali, said the fire exchange lasted two hours. "We believed the firefight was between rebels and security forces…Later, we came to know that area people were fighting against the insurgents." He said, "The government has been raising empty slogans about bringing security to Deh Yak. You will see how residents stabilize their area."
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