RASC News Agency: Local sources in Badakhshan province have confirmed a deadly clash between rival Taliban commanders in Warduj district that left one fighter dead and at least 15 wounded. The incident highlights once again the regime’s inability to maintain order even within its own ranks, exposing the Taliban not as a government but as a collection of competing warlords.
According to witnesses, the confrontation erupted between Qari Babajan, the Taliban’s police chief for Zebak district, and Mullah Zahir, a Taliban battalion commander in Ishkashim. Both men hail from Warduj and command militias of more than 200 heavily armed fighters each. The fighting involved both light and heavy weaponry, effectively turning parts of the district into a battlefield. Three Taliban Ranger vehicles were set ablaze, and residents described the atmosphere as “a state of war” that lasted for hours.
Community members said the dispute was triggered by quarrels over pastureland between the villages of Ghaniyo and Akhsheera, where both commanders originate. What began as a local land dispute spiraled into armed conflict because, as villagers put it, Taliban leaders “resolved everything with guns.” One Warduj resident told RASC: “These men are supposed to govern, but they act like gangsters fighting over territory. Ordinary people are the ones who pay the price.”
As the violence escalated, Taliban authorities dispatched reinforcements from Faizabad, the provincial capital, in a bid to restore control. But locals stressed that the presence of multiple Taliban factions, each loyal to its own commander and clan, has made peace elusive.
This bloodshed is not an isolated case. Across Afghanistan, Taliban fighters have repeatedly turned their weapons on one another in disputes over land, smuggling routes, mining revenues, and local influence. These internal battles routinely spill into civilian areas, forcing Afghanistani families to flee their homes or risk being caught in the crossfire.
Analysts note that the Taliban’s repeated internal clashes lay bare the hollow facade of their so-called government. Far from offering stability or governance, the regime is splintered by personal rivalries and predatory ambitions. Every eruption of violence underscores a deeper reality: Afghanistan under Taliban rule is not a unified state, but a patchwork of feuding militias where ordinary Afghanistani citizens are left defenseless in the face of chaos.
