Afghanistan's 'acting' president Amrullah Saleh has fled to Tajikistan amid increasing heat from the Taliban, claimed the insurgent group on Friday. The Taliban said he fled with commanders of Panjshir in two planes yesterday.
The report of Saleh fleeing Afghanistan has come a day after he claimed that the Panjshir-based resistance against the Taliban will continue to defend the rights of all Afghan citizens.
Following his reported exit from the country, Saleh took to his Twitter handle and highlighted the harrowing experiences of the people of Panjshir.
He said, "Talibs have blocked humanitarian access to Panjshir, do racial profile of travelers, use military age men of Panjhsir as mine clearance tools walking them on mine fields, have shut phone, electricity & not allow medicine either. People can only carry small amount of cash."
"Over the past 23 years since start of the Emergency Hospital we never blocked Talib access to it. Talibs are committing war crimes & have zero respect for IHL. We call on UN & world leaders to take notice of this clear criminal & terrorist behavior of the Talibs," he added.
In another tweet, Saleh said, "Resistance is the nom de guerre of everyone here. RESISTANCE."
As per sources, Saleh, along with Ahmad Masoud - the son of famous Afghan commander Ahmad Shah Masoud - another leader of the resistance, had been posing a challenge to the Taliban's leaders from Panjshir.
However, that challenge is likely to wane in the coming days as Saleh and several commanders of Panjshir have fled the crisis-hit nation.
Yesterday, the Taliban said that it has killed 34 members and captured 11 checkpoints of the Afghan resistance forces in the northern Panjshir province.
Earlier today, former Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai in a statement asked the Taliban and the "resistance front" in Panjshir to stop the fighting and resolve their issues through talks.
According to Ahmad Massoud’s forces, Al-Qaeda has joined the Taliban in the group’s offensive on the Panjshir valley.
The report of Saleh fleeing Afghanistan has come a day after he claimed that the Panjshir-based resistance against the Taliban will continue to defend the rights of all Afghan citizens.
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