Aug. 4, 2010
Children shepherd goats just outside the city of Maimana, in the Faryab province of Afghanistan. According to residents, the Taliban has been gaining control of villages in the province, taking a portion of the income from local farmers and teachers.
Andrea Bruce-for The Washington Post
Aug. 4, 2010
Afghan police direct traffic in the village of Almar.
In the past year, security in northern Afghanistan has deteriorated rapidly as insurgents have seized territory in provinces such as Kunduz and Baghlan, and even infiltrated the scenic mountain oasis of Badakhshan, where 10 members of a Christian charity's medical team were massacred this month.
Andrea Bruce-for The Washington Post
Aug. 4, 2010
A motorcycle headlight shines on a man crossing a road in Maimana, Afghanistan.
The Taliban moves constantly on unmarked dirt roads outside the cities to ambush Afghan police and soldiers, and kidnap residents. The insurgents execute those affiliated with the government and shut down reconstruction projects. They plant homemade bombs, close girls' schools and take by force a portion of farmers' crops and residents' salaries.
Andrea Bruce-for The Washington Post
Aug. 4, 2010
A villager looks out his door in Aimaq, Afghanistan.
Andrea Bruce-for The Washington Post
Aug. 4, 2010
Girls sit in class in the town of Qaisar in Faryab province. The Taliban has been closing girls' schools in the province, including a school 30 miles from this one.
"We're afraid of the Taliban and the government," said Mohammad Hassan, a wheat farmer. "We're caught in the middle; we don't have any power."
Andrea Bruce-for The Washington Post
Aug. 4, 2010
Girls sit in a classroom at their school in Qaisar.
Andrea Bruce-for The Washington Post
Aug. 4, 2010
Said, center, who did not give his last name, said the Taliban kidnapped his son near the town of Qaisar.
Andrea Bruce-for The Washington Post
Aug. 3, 2010
Abdul Haq Shafaq, the Faryab governor, estimates that there are at least 500 Taliban members in his province, although others put the number far higher. The 1,800 police, Shafaq said, "are not enough," and the government hopes to form a 500-man militia to bolster them.
Andrea Bruce-for The Washington Post
Aug. 4, 2010
A scarecrow stands in a melon patch in the village of Alamliq.
According to villagers, the Taliban expects "zaqat," or charity, from shepherds: one sheep out of every 40; and they take "usher," an Islamic tax, from the wheat farmers: 10 percent of the harvest.
Andrea Bruce-for The Washington Post
Aug. 4, 2010
Melon farmers in the village of Alamliq.
Andrea Bruce-for The Washington Post
Aug. 4, 2010
Youssef Ali harvests wheat in the hills outside Maimana.
Andrea Bruce-for The Washington Post
Aug. 4, 2010
"How did the Taliban get into every village?" asked Israel Arbah, from his mud hut in the Shah Qassim village of Faryab province. "They are everywhere. And they are moving very fast. To tell you honestly, I am really, really afraid."
Andrea Bruce-for The Washington Post
Aug. 4, 2010
Sheep are herded over the hills outside Maimana in Faryab province.
Andrea Bruce-for The Washington Post
Aug. 4, 2010
Small villages like this one have been targeted and taken over by the Taliban in Faryab province.
Before the Taliban invades a village, their arrival is sometimes preceded by a letter:
"Hello. I hope you're healthy and doing very well," a Taliban deputy district shadow governor wrote recently to four tribal elders in a Faryab village. "Whatever support you could provide, either financially or physically, we would really appreciate that. We hope that you will not deny us."
Andrea Bruce-for The Washington Post
Aug. 4, 2010
Melon farmers in the village of Alamliq.
Andrea Bruce-for The Washington Post
Aug. 3, 2010
Afghan district police are assigned to help patrol the city of Maimana.
In early November, the villagers of Khwaji Kinti woke to the rumble of motorcycles. The next morning, they discovered that 30 to 40 members of the Taliban, armed with Kalashnikovs and rocket-propelled-grenades, had taken charge. Tribal elders pleaded with police to send help. None arrived.
Andrea Bruce-for The Washington Post
Aug. 3, 2010
Villagers wander the marketplace just outside the city of Maimana.
The ranks of Taliban have swelled in Faryab because of young and jobless men, according to officials and residents. These young men profess little allegiance to a government they view as irrelevant, at best, and exploitative, at worst. They trace the insecurity to the presence of NATO forces.
Andrea Bruce-for The Washington Post
Aug. 4, 2010
A livestock market is set up in a dry riverbed in Maimana.
Andrea Bruce-for The Washington Post
Gallery Credits:
Text Editor Milos Balac
