Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani flew to the country's northern holy city of Mazar-i-Sharif, besieged by Taliban, to rally his beleaguered forces, news agency AFP reported. According to the report, Ghani held talks with Mazar's long-time strongman Atta Mohammad Noor and infamous warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum about the defence of the city.
The country's northern region is a stronghold of anti-Taliban militia groups, and if Mazar-i-Sharif falls, it will be a huge boost for Taliban's complete capture of the north.
Taliban has now completed a sweeping takeover of at least 192 district administrative centres including Qala-e-Naw, Kandahar, Lashkar Gah, Herat, Faizabad, Ghazni, Maimana, Gardez and Pul-e- Khumri, and the takeover of at least six provincial capitals: Zaranj in Nimroz province, Sheberghan in Jawzjan province, Kunduz City in Kunduz province, Taloqan in Takhar province, Sar-e-Pul in Sar-e-Pul province and Aybak in Samangan province.
Who are Noor and Dostum?
Noor is the strongman in the North. Once the governor of Balkh province, where Mazar-i-Sharif is the capital, he effectively still runs the region. As head of Jamaat-e-Islami, one of Afghanistan's strongest parties, he wields influence across the north. He had long vied over control of northern Afghan territories against ally-turned foe Uzbek warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum. After the US-led coalition drove the Taliban away from Mazar-i-Sharif, frequent clashes erupted between Noor’s militia and those of Dostum for the control of Balkh. He managed to retain control over the territory, expelling Dostum in the process. Earlier this year as the Taliban gained momentum, Noor was one of the first to press for the creation of new militias, calling it a “people's uprising”.
Dostum is a Uzbek militia leader, who has been accused of perpetrating war crimes and rape in Afghanistan, and served as vice president of the country for over six years since 2013. In the Soviet-Afghan war, he fought against the Mujahideen and switched sides just before the fall of the Najibullah government. He was a major player in the US’s Northern Alliance that beat back the Taliban in crucial territories, especially the Mazar-i-Sharif. After successive losses to Noor in Balkh, Dostum moved his attention to the Jawzjan province.