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Taliban took over Herat Afghanistan CityThe three-week fierce battle, in which both men and women armed themselves to protect their city, ended, while many inhabitants fled from gunfights and rocket attacks.
Herat’s collapse occurred two months ahead of schedule for the Taliban to rule Afghanistan. U.S. military withdrawal It Started in May 2021.. American and Afghan politicians like Fawzia Koofi warned that the withdrawal would have “great consequences”, The speed at which the Taliban acquired territory surprised many...
Located in western Afghanistan, about 75 miles from the border with Iran, Herat is the third largest city in Afghanistan. Cultural capital For its magnificent architecture, art community and historic sites. It was dismantled and rebuilt from the time of Alexander the Great. 4th century BC..
Some experts say that Afghanistan’s cultural heritage Endangered under Taliban control..
Also at risk is one of Afghanistan’s largest dams. The internationally funded Afghanistan-India Friendship Dam on the Hari River, formerly Salmadam. It is the main source of electricity and irrigation water for hundreds of thousands of people in western Afghanistan.
Critical infrastructure
We are two scholars, one American and one Afghan. Energy, natural resources, water In Afghanistan. one of us, Asef GhafooryOriginally from Herat, he has been watching the Taliban raid his home city and nearby dams in recent weeks.
August 12, Taliban fighter Seized Herat police station and government buildings And to celebrate this massive military victory, they shot their guns and filled the streets.
Dams and water infrastructure are important not only for livelihoods, but also for drinking water and public health, as Afghanistan’s economy is heavily dependent on agriculture.by World BankAbout 70% of Afghans live and work in rural areas and rely on dams for agriculture and irrigation.
Afghanistan-India Friendship Dam Funding and building Depends on India. This US $ 300 million dam in the Chisti Sharif district of Herat is perhaps the most important joint project between neighboring countries and is the pride of both governments.President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India Launched together in June 2016.. This structure acts as both a hydropower and an irrigation dam.
The Taliban have been targeting the friendly Dum Dum between Afghanistan and India for several weeks in an attack on Herat. According to field guards who used the old name for the structure, the dam “witnessed 10 Taliban attacks in the past week, 10 rockets were launched at Salma Dam, two of which collided with the dam’s body. did. “
On August 3, 2021, Fawad Aman, a spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, said: Post to his Twitter account The strike on the dam failed, and the Taliban “caused several casualties” in those attacks. The post has been deleted.
The National Water Authority confirms it Many mortars were fired At a recent dam.
Taliban fighters Known for targeting public infrastructure such as roads and bridges And dam. Experts we talked to who want to remain anonymous feel that the Taliban want to control the dams they have captured, rather than destroy them. They can use access to water to force locals.
The complete takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban could at least be a threat US $ 3 billion Percentage of India’s investment in Afghanistan’s infrastructure, including the Herat Dam.
The connection between water and the Taliban
The National Waterworks Authority of Afghanistan announced on July 16, 2021 if the friendship dam between Afghanistan and India was damaged. Eight downstream districts that depend on the water stored there..Dam provides Irrigation near 10,000 acres When Electricity for 40,000 families..
Threatens Afghanistan for the Taliban Dam seems to serve as a way to terrorize people..
Already a prolonged drought Conflicts and evacuation are increasing in Herat.Some families I was forced to sell my childAccording to a June 2021 report by the Japan Disaster Relief Team, a non-profit organization.
When rural Afghans can’t make money to save and prepare for their wedding, it makes them Target of adoption by the TalibanSays Massoud Hossaini, a prominent Afghan journalist and Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer who reported on the war in Afghanistan.
Taliban Pay quite a lot for their fighters More than they can earn even in a good farming season.
In an interview with Herat’s former governor, Daud Shah Sabah, on August 12, 2021, he said he wanted the dam to be “protected for the people of Afghanistan.”
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This article will be republished from conversation, A non-profit news site aimed at sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Elizabeth B. Hesami, Johns Hopkins University When Asef Ghafoory, University of Cardan (Afghanistan)..
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Elizabeth B. Hessami is a member of the Environmental Law Institute and the Environmental Peacebuilding Association.
Asef Ghafoory is the founder and CEO of the Afghanistan Institute for Communication Media. He belongs to the Ministry of Energy and Water of Afghanistan.
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