Taliban Detains Two Men in Faryab on Charges of Armed Group Membership
Taliban authorities have arrested two men in Faryab province on suspicion of cooperating with an armed opposition group, media affiliated with the Taliban-run administration reported. At the same time, videos circulated on propaganda channels close to the administration showed the two men confessing to membership in an opposing group.
In one of the videos, the men say they were recruited through social media and in exchange for money by a group that intended to announce its existence. In another video, which is attributed to the same incident, the two apparently identify themselves on 22 Asad of the current solar year as members of the “Afghanistan Liberation Movement.”
The arrest of the two men was reported about three weeks after the video announcing their existence was published. The Taliban administration has so far provided no further details about the identities of those detained, the exact location of the arrest, or the review process in their case.
Over the past five years, several armed fronts opposing the Taliban administration have declared their existence. However, as of early this solar year, the United Nations and independent organisations had only confirmed a number of the alleged attacks by these fronts in their official reports.
Previously, some attacks attributed to the “National Resistance Front of Afghanistan,” the “Afghanistan Freedom Front” and a “Green Trend” attack had been confirmed. Also this solar year, the “Afghanistan Republic Front” and the “United Afghanistan Front” announced the start of military operations against the Taliban administration and claimed responsibility for several attacks.
The Taliban administration usually does not comment on attacks by armed fronts opposed to it and, in cases where such attacks receive wide attention, it denies them. Faryab is one of Afghanistan’s northern provinces and has repeatedly witnessed security incidents and activity by armed groups in recent years.
