Security

Helmand residents rise up against Taliban

By Sulaiman

Residents of Helmand Province are shown on December 25, the day they launched a popular uprising against the Taliban and pledged to aid the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF). [Sulaiman]

Residents of Helmand Province are shown on December 25, the day they launched a popular uprising against the Taliban and pledged to aid the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF). [Sulaiman]

KABUL -- Hundreds of residents of Helmand Province are taking up arms to fight the Taliban alongside the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) as part of a number of uprisings that broke out in December.

"Taliban oppression against us has reached an unprecedented level, the extent of which has forced us to take up arms against these oppressors," said Muhammad Samim, a member of the popular uprisings. "We won't lay down our arms until the Taliban are kicked out of our area."

"The number of uprising participants is on the rise, and we are determined to destroy the Taliban in Nawa, Nad-e-Ali and Marjah," he told Salaam Times. "Hence, I asked the government to provide us with weapons and munitions so that we can defeat the Taliban."

Local authorities welcome the popular uprisings.

Members of the Helmand Province anti-Taliban uprising are shown on December 25. More than 500 residents of the Nawa, Nad-e-Ali and Marjah districts have taken up arms to aid security forces in driving the Taliban out of their areas. [Sulaiman]

Members of the Helmand Province anti-Taliban uprising are shown on December 25. More than 500 residents of the Nawa, Nad-e-Ali and Marjah districts have taken up arms to aid security forces in driving the Taliban out of their areas. [Sulaiman]

The popular uprisings are beneficial for the stability and security of Helmand Province, said Mirza Hussain Alizadah, a member of the Helmand Provincial Council.

"More than 500 residents of Nawa, Nad-e-Ali and Marjah districts have taken up arms to co-operate with the security forces, to put an end to the oppression and aggression of Taliban, and also to kick the Taliban out of their areas," he told Salaam Times. "They are prepared to fight alongside the ANDSF against the Taliban."

The uprising members are very familiar with their areas and they can destroy the Taliban in their regions with the help and co-operation of security forces, he said.

"Among the members of the uprising are those who formerly supported the Taliban," he said. "They have now realised, however, that the Taliban work for the interests of foreigners and not for the people of Helmand."

One former Taliban member explained why he switched sides.

"In the past, I used to be pro-Taliban, thinking that they strive for our prosperity and happiness," a member of popular uprisings in Helmand Province told Salaam Times on condition of anonymity.

"But it is now proved to me, as well as to all other residents of Helmand, that the Taliban are puppets of foreigners and work to destroy our country," he said. "It is for that reason that I took up arms in order to fight the enemies of my homeland."

Government pledges support

All the participants in the popular uprisings are civilians from various districts of Helmand Province, said Omar Zwak, spokesman for the Helmand governor.

"Their sole purpose is to prevent the Taliban's terrorist activities and to establish security in their regions," he told Salaam Times.

"In the area under their control, the Taliban have forced people out of their houses, confiscated their farmlands, shut down their schools and prevented people from accessing health and medical services," she said. "That is the reason for which people were forced to rise up. From now on, people will no longer tolerate the Taliban and their oppression."

"The local government will help the members of the uprisings within its capacity as much as possible and, if necessary, it will provide them with weapons, munitions and vehicles," Zwak said. "It will even include members of the uprisings in the ranks of police and the national army."

Tortured, terrorised by the Taliban

Hasibollah, a member of the popular uprisings from Nawa District, said the Taliban tortured him on the pretext that he was a member of the local police.

"They told me that I had to give them either my weapon or its monetary value," he told Salaam Times. "Now, I have come to the provincial capital and joined others to fight against the Taliban."

"I am not asking for money or for any other privileges from the government," he said. "All I want from the government is to provide us, the participants of these popular uprisings, with weapons so that we can rid our province of the terrorist Taliban and to bring security to our homes."

"We do not have a quiet, peaceful life because of the horror and terror created by the Taliban," said Abdul Hakim, a civil society activist in Helmand Province.

"People want to live free. They would like to have access to modern science and technology," he told Salaam Times. "Unfortunately, however, people are deprived of education in Taliban-controlled areas. In fact, the Taliban are the greatest obstacle on the path of development and progress."

"It is therefore the duty of us, the people of Helmand, to conduct civil protests as well as armed uprisings against the Taliban," he said.

People, security forces stand united

The government and the security forces are determined to protect and support the entire population of Helmand and especially those who fight alongside the security forces against the Taliban, said Najib Danish, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry.

"Public support for the security forces is the guarantor of people's security and stability," he told Salaam Times. "The fact that people with their massive uprisings against the Taliban stand united with the security forces motivates these forces, more than any time in the past, to suppress the Taliban."

In a previous popular uprising four years ago, residents of Nahr-e-Saraj District, Helmand, rose up against the Taliban and cleared several villages.

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