FAYAZABAD, Afghanistan (Kashmir English): Clashes erupted between two Taliban groups in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province, killing over 10 people and injuring many.
According to a foreign news agency, a confrontation occurred between local Taliban fighters in Badakhshan’s Yawan district and fighters from Helmand. The clash was over maintaining control of a gold mine.
Clashes between Taliban fighters, which began on Sunday, are continuing intermittently. Among those killed in the clashes are the district director of legal affairs and the traffic director.
According to sources, the clashes were initiated by local Taliban fighters, who alleged that Taliban fighters from southern provinces had forcibly occupied the gold mines and had the support of the provincial governor and security leadership.
Local Taliban
They also claimed that the revenue from these mines does not reach the local Taliban.
According to local residents, tensions have long been simmering between different factions of the Taliban in Badakhshan over the control of mineral resources, which has now escalated into open warfare.
Sources said the top Taliban leadership has so far refrained from intervening in this dispute, raising fears that the situation in Badakhshan could further deteriorate.
