Where is farah afghanistan

Forming the backbone of the Northern Alliance,. Tajiks made up the majority of the Northern Alliance, both in terms of membership and leadership. Tribal ties have largely broken down among the Tajiks; therefore, social organization is defined primarily by geography. Despite their lack of cohesiveness the Tajiks are often brought together due to the perceived common threat posed by the Pashtuns.

The Hazara are a distinct ethnic and religious group within the population of Afghanistan who are often the target of discriminatory and violent repression. Most likely descended from the Mongols of Genghis Khan, there is also a strong argument that they are of Eastern Turkic origin , the Hazara are noticeably different in physical appearance when compared to the Pashtun majority.

The vast majority of the Hazara are of the Shia Muslim faith. In present day Afghanistan, the Hazara are divided geographically into two main groups: those who live in and outside the Hazarajat region. In August , the Taliban massacred approximately 4, Hazara in Mazara-e Sharif; this massacre was followed by another the next month when the Taliban killed another Hazara in Bamiyan. Due to the atrocities committed against them by the Taliban, the Hazara by and large are opposed to the Taliban.

The Hezb-e Wahdat Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan is an umbrella political organization which commands the support of large numbers of Hazara.

The Hazara are also often at odds with the Kuchi population within the Hazarajat. The Aimak are a Persian-speaking nomadic or semi-nomadic tribe of mixed Iranian and Mongolian descent who inhabit the north and north-west highlands of Afghanistan and the Khorasan Province of Iran. The term Aimak derives from the Mongolian term for tribe Aimag. They were originally known as chahar or the four Eimaks, because there were four principal tribes: the Taimani the predominating element in the population of Ghor , the Ferozkhoi, the Temuri, and the Jamshidi.

The best estimates of the Aimak population in Afghanistan hover around million. The tally is made difficult since, as a consequence of centuries of oppression of the Hazara people in Afghanistan, some Aimagh Hazaras are classified by the state as Tajik, or Persian instead of Aimaks. The Chanar Aimaks are believed to be of Turco-Mongolian origin. This assessment is based on their physical appearance and the style of dwellings they utilize which closely resemble Mongolian style yurts.

Known for having many Hazara as well as non-Hazara members, this Shiite party refused to join the Hazara coalition Hizb-i Wahdat in the ensuing civil war. Led by Burhanuddin Rabbani, Jamiat-e Islami is predominately a Tajik p party active in the anti-Soviet jihad and a major political player in the Northern Alliance.

Today Rabbani supports Karzai. Former members continue to wield considerable influence. Hekmatyar is a Kharoti Ghilzai. It has a reputation for moderate thought and the traditional, mystical and introspective tenets that characterize Sufism. Violence in southern Afghanistan has spread to Farah province in recent months in the form of roadside bombs, ambushes, highly destructive raids by hundreds of Taliban fighters and high profile assassinations.

Violent activity usually associated with Helmand and Kandahar provinces have become more common in Farah indicative of the spread of Taliban influence in this previously quiet province. The main highway from Kabul to Kandahar Highway 1 continues westward through Farah and eventually cuts north into Herat.

When the Taleban closed in on Farah city in Poshtrud district in early , as reported above, this also had immediate effects on the general situation in the city. Families fled to neighbouring provinces amid the chaos, and angry protests broke out. Some of the reasons for the bad situation in Farah were the corruption and rivalry among local pro-government strongmen who have undermined security, as well as the increasing convergence of interests between the drug trade, elements in the local administration and Taleban networks.

At that time, there were only 20 to 30 policemen formally assigned to each district centre. Even if the official roster reflected the reality of personnel strength in the field, such numbers would have been too small to protect even the major towns. The situation was exacerbated from the beginning by factional conflict.

Jalil was pitted against former Taleban commander Mullah Sultan in a conflict over transport and smuggling routes, leading from Herat south to Nimroz and Iran.

Jalil became head of the largest transport company in the province, serving mainly the coalition troops. Jamiat-e Islami and Hezb-e Islami competed for influence in a number of districts, making them vulnerable to Taleban infiltration.

Armed conflict also erupted over land disputes in Gulistan and other districts. All this led to significant loss of civilian lives. But not too many people in Kabul noticed, as Farah — at the far western border — was remote and there were many more problems near the capital. The provincial leadership, including governors and chiefs of police, changed on an almost yearly basis. Sometimes the central government appointed leaders from within the province, and sometimes from outside.

Nothing worked. By the end of , Farah had had ten provincial police chiefs and seven governors. After that, the frequency of these changes only marginally slowed down. This allegedly continues. In a programme aired on Ariana TV on 22 January , Homayun Shahidzada, a political commentator from Farah, said every day over tankers of poor-quality oil were imported from Iran through Farah.

They have also been collecting taxes on inland routes. Not coincidentally, those are the districts with the earliest and strongest Taleban presence. According to UNODC figures, the area in the province under opium poppy cultivation rose by almost 40 percent from to , from 9, to 12, hectares.

Others suggest that Iran has undermined the government in Farah. MP Belqis Roshan, when talking to AAN on 16 May, claimed Iran supported the Taleban with ammunition and other logistics, an assertion that is widespread among local government officials see here and here. Others, such as governor Salangi, deny this but officials in western Afghanistan told the author as early as in that they found it difficult to publicly speak against Iran, given its strong influence in the region.

The Taliban, however, claimed to have reached the city center. Biden says veterans are 'spine of America' in commemoration.

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