Arne Kristian Sørnes, Norway’s Defense Attaché in Afghanistan, says it is likely that the Taliban will attack Kabul this autumn.
He told Forsvarets forum that the situation in Afghanistan is very gloomy. Sørnes hopes for a peace agreement but says it is becoming more and more likely that the Taliban will take over the country with military force.
“It is difficult to say anything about what the Taliban will do next. But there are many indications that they are now positioning themselves to go towards Kabul. As it looks now, there is a good chance that the Taliban will try to take Kabul already this autumn,” Sørnes said.
Taliban offensive
He pointed out that there are reports that the Taliban can take control of Kabul within 60 to 90 days.
“Two months ago, none of my Afghan interlocutors had anticipated that the Taliban could take over such large areas in such a short time. Everyone expected an offensive, but it has been significantly more extensive than expected,” he said.
The Taliban have captured a number of provincial capitals since the US and NATO began their withdrawal from the country. Norway is among the countries that have decided to evacuate embassy personnel from Kabul.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
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More likely Kabul will fall next week. Analysts/experts tend to overlook psychological momentum – the intangibility of morale – like they did regarding the precipitous fall of South Vietnam in 1975.