Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) commander Rahmatullah Furutan has said his forces will continue their armed struggle against the Taliban, following recent fighting in Kamdesh district of Nuristan province.
In a statement, Furutan said AFF fighters had taken a brief rest after what he described as a long and difficult battle in the mountainous area.
Addressing Afghan women and girls, the commander said they should not be worried and claimed that his forces were fighting against what he described as Taliban “tyranny and oppression.”
Furutan said the group’s stated objective was to see schools reopened for girls and to allow women and girls to pursue education and build their futures freely.
“We fight for freedom until our last breath,” Furutan said in his message, while also asking supporters to remember the fighters in their prayers.
The statement comes after several days of reported clashes between Taliban forces and the AFF in Kamdesh district.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Defense has claimed that its military operations in the area have concluded and provided its own account of casualties. The AFF, however, has disputed the Taliban’s account and claimed that Taliban forces suffered heavy losses.
The competing claims about the fighting, including casualty figures and territorial control, have not been independently verified.