Kabul, May 5 (EFE).- At least two people died during clashes between security forces and protesters resisting the Taliban’s poppy eradication campaign in Afghanistan, officials said on Sunday.
The violence erupted on Saturday in the remote Darayim and Argo districts of the poverty-stricken northeastern Badakhshan province, provincial information director Zabihullah Amiri told EFE.
Hundreds of local residents, mainly impoverished farmers, have been protesting against the Taliban’s move to destroy poppy fields in the region as part of their nationwide anti-narcotics drive.
“Angry protestors attacked security personnel, in defense the security forces attempted to disperse the protests, which unfortunately resulted in the deaths of two people,” Amiri said.
Local residents have accused Taliban forces of forcefully entering their homes and “torturing” villagers.
“The Taliban government should sit down and offer a solution if there is a problem, instead of invading people’s homes, violating their privacy, and torturing residents,” local activist Aroj Islampur told EFE.
The government has formed a committee to investigate the violence in Badakhshan, Taliban chief spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.
Mujahid said the eradication campaign in Badakhshan was part of a nationwide effort to eliminate poppy cultivation across Afghanistan.
“Regrettably, there have been incidents where offenders attempted to attack the security forces involved in the fight against poppy cultivation,” he said.
The prohibition of poppy cultivation in Afghanistan was one of the Taliban’s commitments to the international community during the Doha peace talks in 2019, which eventually led to the Taliban seizing power in August 2021.
In 2022, Taliban leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada issued a decree strictly prohibiting poppy cultivation, with violators to face crop destruction and legal penalties.
The ban has adversely affected hundreds of thousands of impoverished farmers and laborers in the country, particularly in Badakhshan and southwestern Helmand province, which were major opium producers.
Similar clashes have been reported from other regions over the past two years, as the ban failed to offer economic alternatives to farmers and casual workers amid the country’s ongoing economic crisis.
Afghanistan has witnessed a 95 percent decrease in poppy cultivation since the Taliban officially banned it in April 2022, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). EFE
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