KABUL – A commander and his forces in Afghanistan’s northern province ofFaryab have joined the Taliban, local officials said.link>

A public uprising commander, Ghulam Nabi Shuja, has joined theanti-government insurgent groups with a hundred of his men in Dara Zangarea of Garziwan district, Ariana News quoted local officials as saying onSunday.

According to Sebghatullah Sailab, deputy head of Faryab Provincial Council,the uprising commander has joined the Taliban due to personal feud with thedistrict governor.

The two sides have been involved in violent clashes over the leadership ofthe area, while the central government has failed to take any action, headded.

In separate comments, provincial police spokesman, Abdul Karim Yourish,told Ariana that the defected commander’s alliance with the Taliban wouldnot undermine Afghan forces in the area.

“Based on intelligence reports, he never had a hundred men. The localcommander was not registered under the public uprising forces and morelikely he is having 10 to 15 militants,” Yourish added.

The situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated noticeably in recent months.The radical Taliban movement, which had previously seized considerableterritory in rural areas of the country, has launched an offensive againstlarge cities. Additionally, the influence of Daesh (also known as ISIL orISIS) has increased in the country.

Afghanistan is in a state of political and social turmoil, with governmentsecurity forces fighting the Taliban. The instability has persisted in thecountry since the US launched a military operation in 2001 to defeat theTaliban and al-Qaeda after the 9/11 attacks.