Fleeing the Taliban in the night, a family鈥檚 faith in peace wavers
| LONDON
Afghan corn farmer Ehsanullah Popalzai dared to hope that peace might be possible when he saw Taliban insurgents and Afghan government negotiators finally sit down face-to-face for the first time last month to end decades of war.
He expected a cease-fire, or at least calm, while talks progressed in Doha, Qatar.
But instead, as darkness fell one night last week, Mr. Popalzai and his family experienced once again the pain of war and fled their home, caught in the path of a Taliban offensive to capture Lashkar Gah, the capital of southwestern Helmand province.
Why We Wrote This
The Taliban practice of 鈥渇ighting while talking鈥� has long raised questions about their commitment to peace in Afghanistan. Now, as more die and thousands flee, the U.S. is calling the tactic 鈥渧ery risky.鈥�
That single offensive 鈥� the boldest among a multitude of lethal Taliban attacks and advances nationwide in recent weeks, as the insurgents keep pressure on Afghan security forces聽despite the peace talks 鈥撀燾reated nearly 40,000 displaced Afghans and required American airstrikes to stop it.
It has also raised broader questions about whether the Taliban prefer waging war over making peace, and therefore the fragility of Afghans鈥� own hopes to end 40 years of conflict.
鈥淲e are surprised by our situation,鈥� says Mr. Popalzai, noting how hope over the Doha talks has turned to despair for his family.
鈥淲e were too optimistic. All our nation was very happy. We thought, 鈥榃e will have a peaceful life, there will be no conflict, our people will not kill each other,鈥欌�� says Mr. Popalzai, contacted by phone. 鈥淯nfortunately, that belief was not true, our people are still killing each other.鈥�
A flight in the dark
On the morning of the battle, Taliban fighters had infiltrated fields and villages in Mr. Popalzai鈥檚 district east of Lashkar Gah. The fighters gave prayers 鈥� even calling from the loudspeakers of the local mosque for divine help in delivering victory, which Mr. Popalzai says he heard 鈥撀燼nd then surrounded a nearby military outpost, attacked, and in a two-hour battle 鈥渒illed most of the soldiers,鈥� before burning the base.
Surviving troops took up defensive positions along the road, and also broke through the high wall of Mr. Popalzai鈥檚 family compound with their armored vehicles 鈥撀燿espite family protests that it was full of women and children. After dark, the Taliban attacked again, prompting an immediate exodus of the family and a night of heavy American airstrikes.
鈥淭oo many families left the area at the same time; we suffered too many problems ... and don鈥檛 know about our future,鈥� says Mr. Popalzai. What 鈥渄amaged my soul,鈥� he says, was losing track of his 8-year-old daughter for a day and a half, until she was found with another family.
The Afghan farmer is angry that war has once again upended his life, while the intra-Afghan talks stall over procedural issues. He is angry that his entire family of 16 must now shelter in an empty, one-room shop in town.
And he is angry that it finally required American airstrikes 鈥� the first of consequence since the United States and Taliban signed a withdrawal deal last February 鈥� to stop the Taliban advance.
鈥淭his recent attack, especially, has sent a gloomy feeling across Afghanistan that probably peace will not be as easy as we dreamed,鈥� says a veteran Kabul analyst from an organization that facilitates peace efforts, who asked not to be named.
鈥淭he image that has gone [out] to the Afghan population is that, given the Taliban are in the stronger position, they feel that they can still settle this by war, rather than at the negotiating table,鈥� says the analyst. 鈥淔or the Taliban, to show militarily they remain quite a formidable force is one of the key tools in their hand to demonstrate why making peace with them is necessary.鈥�
But the Taliban strategy of fighting while also talking peace is wearing thin, especially due to the disruption of civilian lives by, for example, cutting off the road between Lashkar Gah and Kandahar to the east, on the long road to Kabul.
鈥淚t鈥檚 proving counterproductive [for the Taliban],鈥� says the analyst. 鈥淩oads cut off mean difficulty for commuters, difficulty for businesses. Hospitals are full. So I definitely think this is not great PR for the Taliban.鈥�
The U.S.-Taliban deal signed Feb. 29 commits to a full troop withdrawal of the remaining U.S. troops, who number at least 4,500, and 6,100 other NATO soldiers by May 2021 鈥� which would end America鈥檚 longest war after 19 1/2 years. But it is conditional聽on counterterrorism guarantees from the Taliban, and a reduction in violence that the U.S. says was meant to be 鈥渁s much as 80%.鈥�
Since February the Taliban have halted attacks against U.S. and other NATO troops, in line with the deal. But they have barely eased attacks against Afghan security forces.
鈥淭oo many Afghans are dying鈥�
U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Scott Miller, met the Taliban several times last week and agreed on a 鈥渞eset鈥� to reduce attacks.
鈥淎t present too many Afghans are dying,鈥� Ambassador Khalilzad tweeted Oct. 15. The Taliban tactic of fighting while talking is 鈥渧ery risky,鈥� he later warned, because it can 鈥渦ndermine the peace process and repeats past miscalculations by Afghan leaders.鈥�
鈥淲e are blaming the Taliban because there is no reason for conflict and violence,鈥� says Mr. Popalzai, whose Helmand province 鈥� long a Taliban target prized for its illicit opium production 鈥� has witnessed some of the most sustained fighting in the war.
鈥淏efore, the Taliban said there is jihad against Americans, but now America is leaving the country and most of them have already left, so there is no reason for violence,鈥� says the farmer. 鈥淸Now] it is only Muslims and Afghans killing each other.鈥�
Indeed, the U.S.-Taliban deal changed the pattern of conflict in favor of the insurgents, such that 鈥渢he Taliban have little incentive to reduce violence,鈥� according to an in-depth report last week by Andrew Quilty for the Kabul-based Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN).
鈥淲ith the threat of being targeted by government or U.S. forces now low, morale among [Taliban] fighters has soared鈥� due to 鈥渢he prospect of ultimate victory 鈥撀爓hether by political or military means,鈥� notes the report, based on dozens of interviews across three provinces.
In contrast, Afghan security forces spoke of frustration over the government鈥檚 鈥渟udden passivity鈥� toward the Taliban. 鈥淭he current defensive posture鈥� makes them 鈥渧ulnerable to attack, has meant a rise in casualty rates and depressed morale,鈥� AAN concludes. 鈥淭his is not sustainable.鈥�
Even as the U.S. draws down its troops, it is trying to 鈥減revent any negative outcomes鈥� that lead to civil war in Afghanistan 鈥渙r even less stability than it has now,鈥� General Miller told the BBC this week.
Humanitarian crisis
That may not be easy, says a lawyer in Lashkar Gah who works for Afghanistan鈥檚 intelligence service, the National Directorate of Security, and asked not to be named.
The latest attack on his city is further proof, the Afghan lawyer says, that peace talks are a 鈥渨aste of time, because the Taliban want to play for time,鈥� until U.S. and coalition forces withdraw, so they can 鈥渇ocus on fighting.鈥�
Yet the Taliban attacks鈥� biggest impact is on the ground, where a new humanitarian crisis has grown, beyond the tide of displaced civilians.
The medical charity Emergency said Lashkar Gah鈥檚 main surgical center, which it operates, was 鈥渟aturated鈥� with 132 war-wounded.
The gap between 鈥渢he raised hopes鈥� of the Doha peace talks and the 鈥渉arrowing daily reality of those who have seen their lives destroyed by fighting is abysmal,鈥� the charity said.
At the Boost provincial hospital, which takes overflow cases and is supported by the French charity聽M茅decins Sans Fronti猫res (MSF), 52 war-wounded patients arrived in the first days of the fight, 鈥渁ll with stories as devastating as their injuries,鈥� wrote hospital coordinator Marianna Cortesi on the MSF website.
In one case, a pregnant woman called Safia 鈥� just two months before her due date 鈥� was struck with a stray bullet that killed her unborn child. Another woman, Zina, was breastfeeding when a stray bullet hit her in the chest, narrowly missing her 8-month-old baby.
Such casualties are no surprise to Mr. Popalzai, the corn farmer. His family also fled a similar Taliban attack in 2016, but not before the Taliban targeted his house with a shoulder-fired rocket. The explosion killed his younger brother and sister.
鈥淭he first clause for ending the war in Afghanistan is a long-term cease-fire,鈥� he says. 鈥淔or this, America should bring pressure on both sides to tolerate each other.鈥�
Hidayatullah Noorzai contributed reporting for this聽story from Kabul, Afghanistan.
