Signs of the deep fractures within the Afghan Taliban have surfaced as the son of Mullah Omar rejected the choice of his successor, just hours after the group issued a statement praising their new leader as one of the late chief’s most “trusted” associates.
Mullah Yacoob, Mullah Omar’s oldest son, said he and three other senior leaders had walked out of a meeting called to elect a new leader, and were now demanding a wider vote.
“I am against the decision to select Mullah Akhtar Mansour as leader,” Yacoob told the Associated Press news agency, revealing the fault lines at the top of the insurgent group a day after it confirmed the death of Mullah Omar and announced the new leadership line-up.
In a statement likely to be aimed at rallying followers behind the leadership, the Taliban said its new leader, Mullah Mohammad Akhtar Mansour, had also been given the title of “Commander of the Faithful”, conferring on him the supreme status held by Mullah Omar. Mullah Akhtar Mansour has been an “active director” of the jihad, or holy war, for some years, it added.
Mullah Omar was made the 'Supreme Leader' of the Taliban movement in 1998 (EPA)
On the ground, the insurgency continued, with Afghan officials saying the Taliban had blown up a major bridge connecting two districts of Kunduz province, in northern Afghanistan, the previous day, fought gun battles with police and been run out of another district when residents took up arms against them.
Afghan forces retook control of Naw Zad district in Helmand province after three days of fierce fighting with the Taliban, officials said.
The Taliban confirmed on 30 July that Mullah Omar had died of an illness some time ago and said they elected Mansour as his successor.
But Reuters news agency reported that several senior figures in the movement had walked out of the meeting that elected Mansour, citing sources at the gathering. The Afghan government had announced on 29 July that the reclusive mullah had been dead since April 2013. The Taliban reacted to the announcement of the Kabul government by pulling out of peace talks that were scheduled to take place on 31 July. The Pakistan government, which was to host the meeting, said the negotiations were indefinitely postponed.
While the future of the peace process, which is a priority for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, is uncertain, the Afghan foreign affairs ministry said that “Afghanistan believes that in the current situation, peace negotiations are (more) possible than any time before”. The new leader of the Taliban is seen as close to Pakistan, and this may put him in a position to revive the peace talks.
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The Taliban statement on 31 July confirmed Sirajuddin Haqqani as one of its newly elected deputy leaders. He is a leader of the Haqqani Network, which has ties with al-Qaeda and is believed to be responsible for numerous deadly attacks in Afghanistan. He has a $10m (£6.4m) American bounty on his head. In pictures: Taliban attack on army school in Pakistan
In Kunduz, insurgents have been active since late April, and are believed to have joined forces with other militant groups in their attempts to take control of the strategic province. AP
