The battle to leave Afghanistan is becoming almost as complex as the war itself. The Biden administration is eager to go but advisers in Washington warn of the Taliban taking over once more and enabling al-Qaida and Isis to operate freely. In the US army’s efforts to create an agreement with the Taliban, it may cease air attacks for a defined time period. Since 2017, an Islamist insurgency fuelled by local grievances has spread rapidly across the Cabo Delgado province in north-eastern Mozambique. The Maputo government has responded partly by the use of mercenaries to control the insurgency, but it has now turned to the US for help, starting with a two-month deployment of special forces to train its own marines.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 27, 2021 09:56 UTC