Afghans who fled Panjshir: ‘Everything can change by the hour’

As resistance forces battle Taliban in Afghanistan’s last war front, Panjshir residents say there’s no clear winner yet.

Kabul, Afghanistan – Since the Taliban claimed “complete control” over the Panjshir Valley in Afghanistan’s northeast earlier this month, the group has been accused of “widespread atrocities”, forcing many Afghans to flee the province – the last remaining enclave of resistance against the group’s rule.

“We didn’t even know what was happening in the next village,” said a government worker who managed to flee the province six days ago. Like other sources Al Jazeera spoke to, he did not want to reveal his identity for fears of retribution.

For nearly a month now, Panjshir’s towering mountains and sprawling valleys have been a black hole of information in Afghanistan, with the National Resistance Front (NRF) and the Taliban battling for the control of the country’s last holdout resisting the Taliban’s sweeping takeover.