Taliban militants were active in about 70% of Afghanistan by November 2017, the BBC reported on Wednesday. A study that the news network conducted between August and November 2017 showed that 1.5 crore Afghans, or close to 50% of the population, live in areas either controlled by the Taliban or where the group has a strong presence.
The BBC report said that 4%, or 14 districts, of the country are now fully controlled by the militant group. The study added that the Taliban had an open or strong physical presence in 66%, or 263 other districts in Afghanistan.
The study comes in the wake of several attacks in Kabul over the past few weeks. On January 27, over 100 people were killed when a bomb hidden in an ambulance close to the offices of the European Union and the High Peace Council buildings went off.
Of the areas with an open or active Taliban presence, as many as 15% of the districts face attacks at least twice every week, the report added. A further 20% face violence at least three times a month, and 31% are attacked once in three months.
Only 122 (30%) districts in Afghanistan are now fully under government control. Places in Helmand province like Sangin, Musa Qala and Nad-e Ali have fallen to the Taliban since 2014, when foreign combat troops left Afghanistan.
However, not everyone seems to be unhappy with the change of government. In Sangin, a resident called Mohammad Reza told the BBC that life was better under the Taliban because there was peace. “It only got violent when the government forces arrived,” he said.
While the Islamic State’s presence in the country has also increased, it only has a small stronghold in the eastern province of Nangarhar, the report said.
United States President Donald Trump had on Monday ruled out talks with the Taliban despite the increasing number of attacks. The US military on Tuesday said that it was a “mistake” to put a media gag order on a federal auditor’s report that said 44% of Afghanistan was in control of or contested by militants.
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