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Almost 200 Kandahar checkpoints abandoned to the Taliban: SIGAR
Nearly 200 checkpoints manned by the Afghan National Army’s 205th Corps in Kandahar province were abandoned to the Taliban during December last year, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) stated in its latest quarterly report.
Published late Monday, the SIGAR report states that Resolute Support (RS) mission has long identified the need for an orderly reduction or elimination of the most vulnerable (minimally manned or unsupportable) checkpoints, as well as to consolidate personnel into patrol bases – the new standard fighting structures for the ANA.
According to SIGAR, in November 2019, the Afghan government in coordination with RS estimated that the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) had over 10,000 checkpoints nationwide, with an average of 10–20 personnel at each checkpoint.
During 2020, the Checkpoint Reduction and Base Development Plan was developed but “some checkpoints were not eliminated by plan, but abandoned to the Taliban. Nearly 200 checkpoints manned by the ANA’s 205th Corps in Kandahar Province were abandoned to the Taliban during December 2020,” the report read.
According to Kandahar provincial leaders and security personnel, the ANDSF and the Taliban have clashed regularly in Kandahar province since October, and the recent checkpoint abandonment let government weapons and ammunition fall into Taliban hands.
SIGAR stated that a lack of ANDSF cooperation, 205th Corps personnel shortfalls, adversarial relationships between the 205th Corps soldiers and Kandahar citizens, and the lack of adequate fuel and personnel reserves for 205th Corps checkpoints contributed to the collapse.
The report also stated that all of “the issues are concerns that MOD senior
leaders [are addressing] and continue to improve.”
SIGAR noted that it estimated there are now under 6,000 checkpoints in the country.
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Tornadoes strike US South, killing 33 people amid rising risk
In Arkansas, three deaths occurred, the state’s Department of Emergency Management said, adding that there were 32 injuries.
Tornadoes killed at least 33 people across several states in the U.S. Midwest and Southeast on Saturday night, with at least 12 fatalities reported in Missouri, CNN reported.
More than 500 homes, a church and grocery store in Butler County were destroyed and a mobile home park had been “totally destroyed,” Robbie Myers, the director of emergency management for Missouri’s Butler County said.
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves posted on X that six deaths had been reported in the state.
According to preliminary assessments, 29 people were injured statewide and 21 counties sustained storm damage, Reeves said.
In Arkansas, three deaths occurred, the state’s Department of Emergency Management said, adding that there were 32 injuries.
Twenty-six tornadoes were reported but not confirmed to have touched down late on Friday night and early on Saturday as a low-pressure system drove powerful thunderstorms across parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi and Missouri, said David Roth, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center.
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UN Security Council to vote on extension of UNAMA mission in Afghanistan
The council said in a report that if approved, the mandate would extend the UNAMA mission for another year without changing its mandate and priorities.
The UN Security Council announced it is scheduled to vote on Monday 17 March on a draft resolution to extend the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, for another year.
The council said in a report that if approved, the mandate would extend the UNAMA mission for another year without changing its mandate and priorities.
According to the report, the draft mandate specified for UNAMA, for another year, include human rights, especially the rights of women and girls, women, peace and security, the economic and humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, terrorism, drug trafficking, small arms, internally displaced persons and refugees, and the effects of natural disasters.
The UN Security Council said that all 15 permanent and non-permanent members of the council are expected to support it.
This comes after the Islamic Emirate recently called the UNAMA mission in Afghanistan a “failure.”
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, accused UNAMA of providing “negative and inaccurate” reports on the situation in Afghanistan.
Mujahid said that UNAMA’s reports had created a “negative mindset” towards Afghanistan within the UN.
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