KABUL: Taliban in Balkh Province raised funds forcefully and also recruited local communities, according to officials.
The local Afghan authorities in the northern province said on Wednesday that the Taliban forced local residents living in areas under the control of groups in the Balkh Province to pay them part of their income.
“The Taliban also tried to recruit from between the local community,” said the officials reported Tolo news.
“There are only around 20 Taliban fighters in the Regency Building Complex and Police Headquarters; the rest of them have taken positions in the village to collect zakat (charity),” said Mohammad Yousuf, Governor of the acting caldar district.
Officials said that the number of Taliban fighters in this district was only around 200 fighters, but they wanted to recruit more fighters from the people, reported Tolo news.
“They have applied taxes in shops and bazaars and on local people – who are beyond their ability to pay.
They also harass people who do not have the capacity to pay a large amount of money,” said Mohammad Hashem Mansoori, ” The district governor for the Shortepa district in the Balkh Province.
Business activities have also been affected after increasing violence by the Taliban, especially in areas where there is a dry port, such as a shootout.
“People have serious problems, business owners are very frightening because of business, “Words, residents are in a hammer.
However, the security authority has convinced people that Afghan security forces are fully prepared to maintain people’s lives and property, report Tolo News.” The moral of our forces is very high; They are fully prepared and have the power to defend the city.
Immediately we will launch our offensive operations, “said Khanullah Shuja, Commander of 209 Shaheen Army Corps.
Earlier this month Taliban managed to take over the center of Kaldar Regency.
Then, Afghan security forces were deployed five kilometers from the district to prevent the possibility of moving by the Taliban to the crossroads of the Taliban , the main finance dry port in the north.
Balkh has 14 districts, nine of them are under the control of the Taliban.