A newly deployed Taliban military unit entered Shukai district in Afghanistan’s northeastern Badakhshan province on Wednesday as tensions over control of gold mines continued to escalate, local sources said.
The sources said the unit, estimated at around 150 fighters, arrived in the district center before noon and was equipped with advanced weapons, including laser-guided equipment.
The deployment comes amid rising unrest linked to disputes over gold mining operations in parts of Badakhshan, where local residents and Taliban-linked commanders have clashed in recent weeks.
Sources also said that Fasihuddin Fitrat, the Taliban’s army chief of staff, had traveled to Badakhshan in an apparent effort to contain the tensions.
According to the sources, disagreements over mining rights and resistance by some local Taliban commanders — including figures linked to Juma Khan Fateh, the Taliban deputy governor in Zabul province — have raised concern among Taliban authorities in Kabul.
The sources added that further arrests in the region were possible and warned that additional developments could unfold in the coming days.
Taliban have not publicly commented on the reported deployment.
Earlier, Abdul Matin Rahimzai, the Taliban’s head of mines and petroleum in Badakhshan, warned local Taliban forces against interfering in mining activities during a visit to Shukai district.
His remarks came after reports that gold extraction had been halted in parts of the province amid the worsening tensions.
The media office of the Taliban governor in Badakhshan said that Governor Mohammad Ismail Ghaznawi, along with mining officials and other local authorities, had traveled to the districts of Maymay, Nusay, Kof Ab and Shukai in an effort to address the situation.
The unrest follows reports that Taliban intelligence recently detained Musa Kaka, a Taliban commander in Nusay district and a close ally to Juma Khan Fateh.
Local sources have said that Taliban-linked armed groups associated with Fateh have seized land contained gold deposits in Shukai district.
At least two people have been killed and 10 others wounded in recent clashes between local residents and Taliban members over control of the mines, according to local sources.
Badakhshan, which borders Tajikistan, China and Pakistan, holds significant reserves of gold and other minerals. Competition over control of natural resources has increasingly fueled tensions among Taliban factions, local commanders and residents since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
