Taliban says it has surrounded Afghan resistance fighters, calls for peace

[superadmin]

KABUL (REUTERS) - The Taliban has surrounded the only remaining province resisting its rule, a senior leader said on Wednesday (Sept 1), calling on rebels to negotiate a settlement with the group.

Since the fall of Kabul on Aug 15, mountainous Panjshir has been the only province to hold out against the Islamist group, although there has also been fighting in neighbouring Baghlan province between Taliban and local militia forces.

Under the leadership of Ahmad Massoud, son of a former Mujahideen commander, several thousand members of local militias and remnants of army and special forces units have been holding out against the Taliban.

In a recorded speech addressed to Afghans in Panjshir, senior Taliban leader Amir Khan Motaqi called on the rebels to put down their weapons.

"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is home for all Afghans," he said.

The Taliban have declared an amnesty for all Afghans who worked with foreign forces during the past two decades but crowds fearing reprisals have continued to flock to the borders in an attempt to flee the land-locked country.

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