The Kabul Tribune (KT) — Juma Khan Fateh, a dissident Taliban commander, has surrendered after nearly a week of fighting with Taliban forces in northeastern Badakhshan province, according to a report by TOLOnews.
The terms of Fateh's surrender were not immediately clear,
and neither Fateh nor Taliban authorities have publicly disclosed whether an
agreement was reached or what will happen to Fateh and the fighters under his
command.
The surrender follows negotiations between Fateh and a
Taliban delegation led by Fasihuddin Fitrat, the Taliban army chief of staff.
Earlier reports said the talks had remained unresolved, with Fateh demanding
that he and his fighters be allowed to remain in the Darwaz region.
In return, Fateh had proposed preventing armed groups
opposed to the Taliban from operating in the area, according to information
reported during the negotiations.
The confrontation began in Nusay district and later spread
to other parts of Badakhshan. Local sources said both sides suffered casualties
during the fighting, although no independent toll has been established. The
clashes also forced some residents to flee their homes.
Fateh, a former Taliban deputy governor of Zabul, had said
during the confrontation that he was not seeking to challenge Taliban rule.
Instead, he described his dispute as being with Taliban intelligence forces in
Nusay, accusing them of searching residents' homes.
The dispute nevertheless escalated into several days of
armed clashes, prompting senior Taliban officials to enter negotiations with
Fateh.
The surrender appears to bring the confrontation to an end,
at least temporarily, but the absence of publicly disclosed terms leaves
uncertainty over Fateh's status and the future of the fighters who surrendered
with him.
