Taliban controls 80 percent of Afghanistan, spokesperson tells Rudaw

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Taliban now controls nearly 80 percent of Afghanistan, a spokesperson for the Taliban politburo told Rudaw on Friday.

“Before the recent events, we had around 70 percent of the land in our hands. Right now, around 80 percent of the area is under our control,” Mohammed Naeem told Rudaw’s Bestoon Khalid. “Previously we had many areas under our control, just not the centers of the districts, but now we are slowly controlling the centers as well.”

The spokesperson’s remarks come on the same day that Taliban declared they had taken over two key border crossings bordering Iran and Turkmenistan. Video footage circulating on social media showed Taliban fighters taking down the flag of Afghanistan from the Islam Qala border crossing bordering Turkmenistan.

The US entered Afghanistan to fight the Taliban following the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. The US is now withdrawing its troops from the country, allowing the Taliban to make territorial advances. 

The Taliban, which calls itself "the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan," has stated that it will not tolerate foreign forces, other than consulates and embassies, in the country.

A February 2020 peace agreement between the Taliban and the US included “Guarantees and enforcement mechanisms that will prevent the use of the soil of Afghanistan by any group or individual against the security of the United States and its allies.”

The Taliban spokesperson also reiterated what was in the agreement saying, “we will not allow anyone to use our land against any other country.”

Naeem, in an earlier interview with Rudaw, expressed concern over the US supposedly violating the agreement.

In April, US President Joe Biden announced that they would extend the period of the US withdrawal to September 11. However, months ahead of the planned deadline, the US troops seem to be close to completely leaving, having withdrawn from Bagram airfield earlier this month.

The Taliban has now shifted to diplomacy, according to the spokesperson.

“We want to solve things through talks and diplomacy, we are now in Doha and the opposing side is here as well, and we hope to reach an understanding,” Naeem said.