[R-G] Afghan Insurgency Spreads to Western Provinces

[Anthony Fenton]

Farah Province: The New Focus of the Taliban Insurgency
http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2373844

By Waliullah Rahmani
With the war in Afghanistan steadily spreading to the north and east  
of the country, a new front for the Taliban insurgency has opened in  
the previously secure western regions. The seizure of districts in  
Farah province by the Taliban and the expansion of insecurity,  
criminal activity, kidnappings and corruption to the western  
provinces of Afghanistan are growing concerns.

In November, three districts of Farah province, including Khake  
Safed, Gulistan and Bakwa, all fell briefly into the hands of the  
Taliban (Hashte Sobh, November 6). Parts of the Herat-Kandahar  
highway that runs through Farah and Nimruz provinces are seized by  
the Taliban on a daily basis. The insurgents stop buses and search  
the passengers in order to find government employees or officials.

Lack of Coordination Impedes the Anti-Taliban Effort

The Taliban’s tactic of capturing districts for only a few days or  
even hours is enabled by a lack of coordination between NATO forces,  
the Afghan National Army (ANA) and Afghan national police. A security  
official in Farah province declared that after ANA and NATO forces  
retake control of a district, they fail to make provisions for its  
future security. The Afghan national police are not able to protect  
these districts alone because they are poorly equipped, suffer from  
poor morale and are limited in numbers (Hashte Sobh, November 18).

In each district of the western provinces the maximum number of  
police is typically only 20 or 30. For a district with a population  
of more than 30,000 people, it is impossible to control even a  
district headquarters, much less the rest of the province. A TV  
cameraman who declined to be named recently visited some of the Farah  
districts and described the situation: “I saw how miserable the  
police were. They didn’t have enough food. The police officers were  
saying that after three or four hours’ battle their weapons don’t  
work well” (author’s interview, November 27).

Abdul Rahman Sarjang, the police chief of Farah province, said that  
the police there have limited facilities. Police often go unpaid and  
are largely incapable of tackling better-armed Taliban forces. “The  
coalition forces do not fight either. The management bodies in the  
province are weak. When the Taliban seized six police vehicles, the  
coalition forces actually did not react. Forty-five Afghan police  
officers and soldiers have been killed over the past few  
days” (Hashte Sobh, November 21).

Iranian Interference

Since the rise in security problems in southwest and western  
Afghanistan, many circles within the country and without have pointed  
to the Islamic Republic of Iran as a leading force in supporting the  
insurgents in Afghanistan. Following the recovery of Iranian-made  
weapons in Afghanistan, there are suggestions that the Islamic  
Republic is trying to bring down the international forces in  
Afghanistan, especially those belonging to the United States (Pagah,  
November 12). Mawlawi Wakil Ahmad Mutawakil—former foreign minister  
of the Taliban—has said that the Islamic Republic might support the  
Taliban in the border provinces because the Taliban and Iran share a  
common goal of forcing the withdrawal of foreign forces from  
Afghanistan (Kabul Direct Monthly, October 21). The police commander  
for the western provinces of Farah, Badghis and Herat, Colonel  
Rahmatullah Safi, claims that Taliban insurgents are trained and  
armed inside Iran before crossing back into Afghanistan (PakTribune,  
June 20).

The defense minister of Afghanistan, Abdul Rahim Wardak, has said  
that the current insurgency in some parts of Afghanistan (including  
the western provinces) is supported by (unnamed) foreign interests.  
Meanwhile, a recent analysis says that the expulsion of Afghan  
refugees from Iran in large numbers is connected to the insecurity in  
Farah, Herat, Nimruz and Badghis provinces. Iran may be interfering  
in Afghanistan to put pressure on the Kabul government and foreign  
forces in order to gain the political leverage needed to lessen  
international pressure on its nuclear program (Wessa, October 3).

Opium Cultivation

Farah and the other western provinces of Afghanistan are central to  
the production and export of narcotics and opium to Iran and Europe.  
Autumn and winter are the most important seasons for opium  
cultivation, which is likely a leading factor in the timing of the  
Taliban’s expansion of the war into the western provinces. The  
Taliban are highly dependent on the narco-economy for their  
financing. Some analysts following the situation in the west and  
southwestern provinces relate that “currently the major traffickers  
help the Taliban to destabilize the region in order to cultivate more  
opium. The only forces who enjoy the insurgency economically are the  
traffickers whose interests are in insecure areas under the control  
of the Taliban. These traffickers contribute to the Taliban  
financially because of their interests. The Taliban can destabilize  
the region by using the financial resources of the drug traffickers  
or the narcotics mafia” (author’s interview with two analysts based  
in the Western provinces). Opium produced in Helmand province is  
smuggled through the western districts of Bakwa, Delaram, Kashrud,  
Bala Bulok, Gulistan and Sinadand into Iran and on into Europe.  
Smugglers contribute to the insurgency to remove any threat to their  
operations from law enforcement agencies (author’s interview with Dad  
Norani, Afghan researcher from western Herat province, December 8).

Leading Insurgents

The insurgents active in Farah, Herat, Nimruz and Badghis provinces  
are local Taliban with close ties to the insurgents in Helmand  
province. Mawlawi Abdul Hamid is a leading local insurgent in the  
Zirkoh area of Shindand district of Herat province. Some commanders  
from the Bomadi tribe are also active in the western provinces of  
Farah and Nimruz. One leading insurgent who is not affiliated with  
the Taliban is Sakhi Momin.

Inside Farah and Nimruz provinces the Taliban are mainly led by  
Mullah Bismillah and Mullah Baz Muhammad, who are in close touch with  
the Taliban in Musa Qala province. Although they are not high profile  
commanders of the Taliban, they have played an important role in  
coordinating Taliban operations in the western provinces.

The most dangerous stronghold of the Taliban in western Farah  
province is the village of Shaiban in the Bala Bulok district. Many  
attacks in the western provinces are planned and organized in  
Shaiban, which is dominated by members of the Alizai tribe. The  
Alizai of Shaiban were transferred to the area over a century ago  
from the Musa Qala district of Helmand and still maintain close ties  
with the Musa Qala insurgents (author’s interview with Dad Norani,  
December 8).

Using a Western Front to Spread Taliban Influence Northwards

The war is expanding into the western provinces of Afghanistan, with  
Farah and Nimruz provinces as the focus of the insurgents. Most of  
the fighters in these areas are local in origin and are centered in  
the Bakwa district of Farah province (Pajhwok Afghan News, November  
19). There are signs that the Taliban are intent on connecting areas  
they control in Bakwa with the Parchaman and Taghor districts. If the  
Taliban succeed in doing this they will be able to provide support to  
other insurgents across the western provinces (author’s interview  
with Dad Norani, December 8). In the neighboring Herat province, the  
pro-Taliban Norzai tribe is creating a stronghold for the movement in  
the Adraskan district. Another center for Taliban activity is  
developing in the Qara Jangal area of Badghis province, just north of  
Herat. Heavy fighting has taken place in Badghis province for several  
months now. Afghan MP Hashim Ortaq recently described Qara Jangal as  
the most important place for Taliban efforts to expand the war into  
northern Afghanistan (Kabul Direct Monthly, October).

NATO and ANA forces are beginning to concentrate in Badghis in order  
to prevent such expansion, but much of the region is mountainous and  
difficult to control. The struggle to control Badghis, Herat and  
Farah provinces will play an important part in determining the future  
of the Afghan conflict. Opening new fronts will increase the pressure  
on international forces and possibly cause political dissatisfaction  
with the war in the NATO countries deploying troops in Afghanistan.  
Iran’s role in fuelling further fighting in the region has important  
international implications.