Refugees Fleeing to Kabul Amid Taliban Offensive... "Escaping Forced Marriages and Conscription" (Comprehensive)

Major Cities Fall One After Another... Hundreds of Thousands of Refugees
Powerless Afghan Government Forces Flee Without Fighting

On the 10th (local time), a child is asleep in a refugee camp set up in an urban park in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. Since the 6th, tens of thousands of refugees have been flocking to Kabul as major cities have fallen one after another due to the offensive by the armed group Taliban in Afghanistan. Kabul (Afghanistan) = Reuters·Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] As the Afghan armed group Taliban occupies major cities and the entire country of Afghanistan is engulfed in civil war, hundreds of thousands of refugees are flocking to the capital Kabul. It is reported that the exodus of residents continues because the Taliban is committing looting, murder, forced marriages, and conscription in the occupied areas.

According to AFP on the 11th (local time), hundreds of thousands of refugees are pouring into Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. Temporary refugee camp shelters have been set up in various streets and parks in Kabul city, and most refugees are barely surviving with children without proper access to water and food, AFP reported.

Since the 6th, the Taliban has launched offensives centered on major metropolitan cities, and as of this day, they have taken control of 9 out of 34 major cities in Afghanistan, continuing the flow of refugees to the capital Kabul. The international relief organization Save the Children estimated that about 60,000 residents have fled from Kunduz alone since last weekend. Earlier, the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that more than 359,000 refugees have already emerged from Afghanistan this year.

Escape amid chaos... "Killed for working at government institutions"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

It is reported that large-scale massacres of Afghan government soldiers, officials, and their families are being carried out in areas occupied by the Taliban.

On the 8th, Pariba, a woman who fled Kunduz with her six children, told AFP in an interview, "I saw bodies scattered near the prison, and dogs were wandering right next to them," describing the horrific scene. Abdulmanan, another resident who escaped from Kunduz, claimed that the Taliban beheaded his son.

AFP also reported that some people are being killed by the Taliban simply for having worked at Afghan government institutions. Mirwais Khan Amiri said, "The Taliban have already killed those who quit government-related jobs 4 to 5 years ago," and added that even a simple barber was killed three days ago.

Forced marriages and conscription with Taliban members continue

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

In addition to looting and murder, the Taliban is reportedly ordering unmarried women and widows in occupied areas to forcibly marry Taliban members, and young men are being forcibly conscripted.

Marwa, a widow who escaped from the recently fallen city of Taloqan, told AFP in an interview, "I heard that my 16-year-old niece, although engaged, was taken away to marry a Taliban member."

The Taliban is also known to forcibly conscript young people to secure fighters. According to recent estimates by the U.S. government, the number of Taliban members is about 75,000. Despite rapid expansion recently, it is still considered fewer than the government forces, which number around 300,000. As a result, the number of refugees fleeing to avoid forced conscription in occupied areas is increasing.

Afghan government forces busy fleeing, watching passively

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

However, the Afghan government forces, who should be stopping the Taliban, are reportedly busy fleeing without much fighting. Disappointed by the government forces' retreat, local warlords are switching to the Taliban, causing the Taliban's power to grow even faster.

According to the British Guardian, in Aybak, Samangan Province, which recently fell, the city was captured in one day after the government forces and former senator warlord Asif Azimi, who was defending the area, switched to the Taliban. He had entered Aybak at the request of the Samangan governor and government forces to participate in the city's defense, but upon seeing that the governor and government forces had already fled with only their weapons, he became angry and surrendered to the Taliban.

Refugees have also expressed anger toward the Afghan government, which is helplessly being pushed back by the Taliban. Paojia Karimi, who recently escaped from Kunduz, told AP, "When the Taliban took over our area, the government forces did not fight and only bombed residential areas," criticizing them.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.