Taliban* in Panjshir province. File photoKABUL, Apr 12The ruling Taliban movement in Afghanistan* has converted 15 schools into military bases in the province of Panjshir, which was the center of resistance to the Taliban, according to the Afghan Aamaj News agency.According to it, the Taliban took under the control of 15 schools — for both girls and boys — and turned them into military bases. Thus, about 4 thousand students were left without access to education. At the same time, the authorities do not comment on this information in any way, the agency adds.A Taliban spokesman denied reports of fighting in PanjshirTajik-populated Panjshir province (translated from the Dari language — «Five lions») is located in the Hindu Kush mountains to the northeast of Kabul. It appeared on the administrative map of Afghanistan in 2004, when it was isolated from Parvan province. In terms of area and population — 3.6 thousand square kilometers and 170 thousand people — this is the penultimate of the 34 regions of the country. The most famous native of Panjshir is the field commander, the leader of the Northern Alliance, Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was killed by terrorists in September 2001. In early August, the Taliban stepped up their offensive against the Afghan government forces, entered Kabul on August 15 and the next day declared that the war was over. The last two weeks of August, from the Kabul airport, which was under the protection of the US military, there was a mass evacuation of Western citizens and Afghans who collaborated with them. On the night of August 31, the US military left the Kabul airport, ending nearly 20 years of US military presence in Afghanistan. On September 6, the Taliban announced that Panjshir, the last of 34 Afghan provinces, had come under their control with fighting. In early September, the composition of the interim government of Afghanistan was announced, headed by Mohammad Hassan Akhund, who was in charge of foreign policy during the first Taliban rule* and has been under UN sanctions since 2001.* The movement is under UN sanctions for terrorist activities.
UN says Taliban killed more than 100 former regime supporters
