FAIZABAD (SW) – In the wake of mounting Taliban assaults, at least 1000 security forces from Badhakhshan province of Afghanistan retreated back towards neighboring Tajikistan, sources told Salam Watandar.
The well-placed sources said almost all of the border guards stationed in the border districts of Shahr-e-Buzurg, Yawan, Ishkashim, Baharak and Khawan in Badakhshan had retreated to Tajikistan.
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According to the source, all security checkpoints affiliated with the border forces in these areas have been captured by the Taliban. The source added that more than 300 border guards with hundreds of local uprising force members have now retreated across the border into Tajik territory and have been provided with food and shelter by the Tajik government.
The source also said that the troops will soon be transferred to Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, and from there to Kabul.
Meanwhile, Abdullah Naji Nazari, a member of the Badakhshan Provincial Council, has said that all border troops had left for Tajikistan from the border districts. He added that a number of popular uprising forces had also gone to Tajikistan, but the exact statistics are not yet known.
The Badakhshan provincial council member described the security situation in the province as “worrying” and said that in the last two days, most districts in Badakhshan have been captured by the Taliban and all forces stationed on the Tajik border had retreated from their checkpoints.
Salam Watandar wanted to have the views of local officials in Badakhshan and the Pamir Corps of the army, but to no avail.
Meanwhile, the Tajikistan State News Agency (KNC) has reported that some 1,037 Afghan security forces retreated to the country.
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