The Taliban want to create a “great army” for Afghanistan, which will have officers and soldiers who served the old regime in its ranks. This was announced by Latifullah Hakimi, a senior Defense Ministry official, also specifying that half of the 81 helicopters and planes abandoned and rendered unworkable by the US military and their allies during their hasty withdrawal from the country last summer have been repaired.
During their lightning-fast takeover in August, the Taliban also seized a total of some 300,000 small arms, 26,000 heavy weapons and 61,000 military vehicles, Hakimi added. In addition, the Taliban issued a general amnesty and ensured that soldiers or employees of the former government would not be threatened. However, most senior government and military officials preferred to leave the country during the evacuation of more than 120,000 people in the last days of August. And those who remained preferred discretion, for fear of reprisals by the Taliban.
In late January, a UN report accused the Taliban of killing more than 100 former members of the Afghan government and security forces, as well as Afghans who had worked with foreign troops. Latifullah Hakimi, however, assured that the amnesty was well enforced.
Source: Ansa
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