ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan is plunging into what senior diplomatic sourcesdescribe as the most dangerous internal crisis for the Taliban regime sinceits takeover in August 2021, with open warfare erupting between thepowerful Kandahar-based faction led by Defence Minister Mullah Yaqoob andthe Haqqani Network stronghold in the east.
Multiple reports from inside the country confirm that armed confrontationshave broken out in at least four provinces, including Paktika, Khost, Logarand Wardak, where fighters loyal to Sirajuddin Haqqani have clashed withregular Taliban units answering to Mullah Yaqoob. The violence reportedlybegan after Kandahari commanders attempted to seize control of lucrativenarcotics warehouses controlled by Haqqani operatives, triggering immediateretaliation.
The infighting has already caused significant defections. Dozens ofmid-level commanders from both sides have either switched allegiance ordeclared neutrality, while several district centres have fallen into limbowith no clear chain of command. In eastern Nangarhar, IslamicState-Khorasan has exploited the chaos to launch its largest coordinatedassault in months, overrunning multiple checkpoints and freeing hundreds ofprisoners from Taliban jails.
Resistance groups aligned with the former Northern Alliance have alsoreactivated cells in Panjshir and Baghlan, claiming to have received directoffers of weapons from disaffected Taliban officers seeking to weaken therival faction. Eyewitness accounts describe scenes of looting as armedgroups raid government opium stockpiles worth millions of dollars, furtherfuelling the breakdown of order.
Western intelligence officials monitoring the situation warn that thecurrent trajectory mirrors the 1990s civil war that ultimately destroyedKabul and paved the way for the first Taliban victory. The suddenescalation has caught regional powers off guard, with Pakistan reportedlyscrambling to secure its border as thousands of families flee the fighting.
The rapid deterioration comes despite repeated public denials from Talibanspokesmen who continue to insist that “minor administrative differences”are being resolved internally. However, independent verification fromtribal elders and local journalists paints a far grimmer picture of aregime fracturing along ethnic, tribal and ideological lines that werepapered over during the insurgency but are now exploding under the pressureof governance.
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If the Kandahar-Haqqani conflict spirals further, analysts fear Afghanistancould fragment into competing fiefdoms, creating a vacuum that both IslamicState and returning warlords would rush to fill. For the second time infour years, the country stands on the brink of all-out civil war—this timenot against foreign forces, but among the victors themselves.
Source: www.afghanistan-analysts.net/en/”>https://www.afghanistan-analysts.net/en/
ControlHaqqani Network engage in open warfare, triggering defections and IS-Kattacks amid deepening Taliban infighting.