Taliban Intensifies Attacks On Key Afghan City

Fighting began in earnest inside the last major city standing in northern Afghanistan on Saturday, in the beginning of a battle that could very well define the fate of the country as the Taliban near the verge of a complete military takeover, Christina Goldbaum, Najim Rahim, and Sharif Hassan reported for the New York Times.

Photo Insert: Former Taliban fighters return arms during a reintegration ceremony in 2012.

The Taliban siege on Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh Province and one of the last three major cities under government control, comes just a day after two key cities in southern and western Afghanistan were lost to the Taliban.

Under pressure to quit, Afghanistan’s president pledged only to end “instability” even as he has secured some support from Afghan warlords who have mobilized their militias to battle the Taliban.

As the Taliban set their sights on Kabul, some fear a collapse within weeks, despite airstrikes by the US and the tiny Afghan air force, leaving city residents resigned to the reimposition of a theocracy by the Taliban.

Analysts have said that a Taliban takeover would prompt a prolonged civil war since Afghan warlords are opposed to Islamic fundamentalism and would not want to be second fiddle to insurgents who want to impose Sharia law.

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