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Herat, an economic powerhouse, has become a valuable target to the Taliban
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani spent the day before Eid trying to reassure his people, as government forces were battling the Taliban for control of districts across the country.
Ghani was seen walking on the streets of the western city of Herat on Monday, as the Taliban armed group ran a ferocious campaign to take as many territories as they could amid a vacuum created by the withdrawal of American forces. He approached eager passersby, held babies and even marvelled at the wares of a local sweet shop.
His brief trip through the streets of Herat came at a particularly important time for the people in the largest city in western Afghanistan.
Earlier last month, the armed group managed to take control of Zinda Jan, a district 43km (27 miles) from the provincial capital, Herat city. Shortly after, they captured the Islam Qala border crossing with Iran, one of the most lucrative crossings that the Taliban has captured in recent weeks.
The news of both seizures sent shockwaves across the ancient city, home to 400,000 people.
Residents feared that the group could come marching into Herat by the next day’s sunrise. This fear was so great that many opted out of going to the markets and bazaars for the Eid al-Adha holiday.
Because of this, Ghani’s visit, which was followed by a visit from the acting minister of the interior on the first day of Eid, was meant to send a clear sign to the Herati people: Help is coming.
But to many people in Herat, the fear is still very real.
Forogh Mohammadi, who splits his time between Kabul and Herat, recalls the evening of July 8 when the Taliban took over Zinda Jan as a turning point in his life. It was on that evening that he decided to join the uprising movements that have seen tens of thousands across the nation take up arms against an increasingly encroaching Taliban.
By the next morning, he went from a manager working in offices to carrying an AK-47 on his shoulder and heading out into the districts surrounding the city to fend off any Taliban advances.
“If you were here that night, you would know that the Taliban have every intention to take the big cities.”
Taliban enjoy a major presence in more than a dozen districts across Herat. They used words like “trapped” and “besieged” to describe the city, which they still fear could be overrun by the armed group.
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