FAIZABAD: Clashes broke out on Monday between Taliban forces tasked with clearing poppy crops and farmers as tensions escalated over the contentious issue in Afghanistan’s northeastern Badakhshan province, AFP reported quoting residents.
Residents in Barlas Shalmar village, located in the Argo district of Badakhshan, reported clashes between poppy farmers and Taliban security units assigned to destroy the crops. Witnesses described farmers throwing rocks and confronting the Taliban forces, demanding the preservation of their livelihoods.
Jamaluddin, a resident of Barlas Shalmar village, expressed the desperation of the farmers, stating, “We are poor people, all our hopes for survival are in growing poppy crops.” However, the clash resulted in casualties, with a nurse from a medical facility in Argo confirming the receipt of “two dead and nine wounded people” from the Barlas area.
In response to the unrest, Taliban authorities reportedly fired their guns to disperse the villagers, leading to further escalation of tensions. While a statement from the Taliban’s army unit acknowledged protests against the poppy clearing in Argo, it did not confirm any casualties. The authorities asserted that the situation had returned to normal.
Taliban officials revealed that several persons involved in provoking the protests had been arrested, and the process of destroying poppy fields in the district was ongoing. However, a Taliban official, speaking anonymously, highlighted the resistance faced by their forces, noting injuries sustained by Taliban forces during the clashes with villagers armed with sticks, stones, and shovels.
The incident comes amidst ongoing efforts by the Afghan government and international agencies to combat opium production in the country. Despite a ban on poppy cultivation enforced by the Taliban supreme leader in April 2022, farmers continue to clandestinely grow poppy crops, driven by economic necessity and the lack of viable alternatives.
