Hundreds of Taliban overrun town after peace deal
Taliban militants overran a southern Afghan town where a peace agreement had been negotiated last fall, disarming police, burning the government compound and threatening elders, officials and a resident said today.
A resident of Musa Qala said 200 to 300 Taliban fighters had overtaken the town, seized weapons from the police and destroyed the government centre late yesterday.
Col Tom Collins, a spokesman for Nato’s International Security Assistance Force, said an “unknown number” of militants had apparently entered Musa Qala and that Nato had conflicting reports about the tribal elders temporarily being taken hostage.
Asadullah Wafa, the governor of Helmand province, said the militants came into the town on Wednesday, disarmed the police and returned yesterday and destroyed part of the compound housing the police and district chief.
“People have closed down the shops this morning and those living near the area have moved out of fear,” Wafa said.
Mohammad Wali, a resident of Musa Qala who estimated that between 200 and 300 fighters were in town, said residents were fearful that fighting between Nato and militants would resume.
Col Collins said no ISAF forces were involved in the incident. He said he did not know how many Taliban militants had entered Musa Qala.
British forces are based in Helmand province but pulled out of Musa Qala in October after a peace agreement was signed between local elders and the Helmand governor with the support of the British troops. According to the deal, security responsibilities were turned over to local leaders, while NATO forces were prevented from entering the town.
The deal has been criticised by some Western officials as putting the area outside of government and Nato control. The town was the centre of fierce clashes between British troops and resurgent Taliban militants last year before the agreement was reached.
Last month, Nato said an airstrike outside of Musa Qala destroyed a Taliban command post, killing a senior militant leader who was not named and a number of his deputies.
Nato at the time said the January 25 airstrike “was outside the area of the agreement” and did not violate it.
However, Wafa said the Taliban told a gathering of elders last week that they considered the airstrike a violation of the agreement.
Britain’s Ministry of Defence said it believed it could be premature to suggest Musa Qala had been overrun.
“We are aware of the incidents this morning, but we don’t want to rush into drawing conclusions over whether the agreement with local people has broken down,” a spokesman said on condition of anonymity.
He said any decision to redeploy troops in the town would have to be made by Nato and Britain in conjunction with the Kabul government.
