TRIBAL REVOLT AGAINST THE TALIBAN IN NANGAHAR,S

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 002142

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SRAP, SCA/FO, SCA/A, EUR/RPM
STATE PASS USAID FOR ASIA/SCAA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/27/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM EAID AF PAK PTER
SUBJECT: TRIBAL REVOLT AGAINST THE TALIBAN IN NANGAHAR,S
MAMAND VALLEY

Classified By: PRT and Sub-National Governance Director Valerie C. Fowl
er for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

Summary
--------------


1. (S/NF) The Jalalabad Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT)
met July 23 with tribal members from Nangarhar's Mamand
Valley to coordinate support for their recent uprising
against the Taliban. The resistance by local members of the
Shinwar tribe against Taliban insurgents represents a new
development and an opportunity in the troubled border
district of Achin. During the meeting, local leaders told us
they intended to defend their village against a threatened
insurgent counter-attack, and that they needed more weapons
and ammunition. They also urged provincial officials and
Coalition Forces to meet with them again to discuss a
security plan to assist the villagers. The July 17 clash
between locals from Bagh village in the Mamand Valley and the
Taliban began as a street argument, but spiraled into a
full-fledged revolt against insurgents. The resistance
against the Taliban in the Mamand Valley of Nangarhar is an
opportunity which the PRT and other Coalition Forces plan to
exploit, in an effort to widen the gap between the local
population and insurgents. End Summary.

Anti )Taliban Revolt
--------------


2. (S/REL NATO, ISAF) Twenty-five prominent members of the
Rahimdad Khiel sub-tribe from southern Nangarhar's Mamand
Valley met July 23 with the PRT, other Coalition Forces, and
provincial and district officials to discuss recent fighting
between villagers and insurgents in the strategic valley that
laces through the Spin Ghar Mountains separating Afghanistan
from Pakistan. The PRT called the meeting to discuss how the
provincial government and Coalition Forces could better
support the Shinwar tribal members in their newfound
resistance. The tribal delegation was headed by Malik Niyaz
Mohammad, the local patron of remote Bagh village, who has a
history of tolerating and dealing with insurgents, but who
led the resistance against them in fierce fighting July 17.

A Gap Opens
--------------


3. (S/REL NATO, ISAF) The sudden and unexpected resistance by
local members of the Shinwar tribe against Taliban
insurgents, who have been massing in the Mamand Valley in
recent months, and who had thus far moved relatively freely
around and through local villages, is a new development in
the troubled border district of Achin. The local revolt
represents what appears to be a schism between the local
population and insurgents. Two villagers and at least two
insurgents ) including a Taliban commander ) were killed in
the fighting. Eleven more insurgents, including at least
eight from Pakistan, were captured by locals. Eight were
turned over to Afghan authorities, but three more are still
being held by villagers as bargaining chips against the
11-year-old nephew of Malik Niyaz, who was taken hostage by
Taliban during the clash, Malik Niyaz told us.

Give Us Weapons
--------------


4. (S/REL NATO, ISAF) During the July 23 meeting, Malik Niyaz
told the PRT, other Coalition Forces and the Governor's
representative (Governor Gul Agha Sherzai has been away in
Kandahar campaigning for President Karzai's re-election) that
they intended to defend their village against a threatened
insurgent counter-attack, and that they needed more weapons
and ammunition. Note: Coalition Forces do not currently plan
to directly provide the villagers with weapons. End Note.


5. (S/REL NATO, ISAF) On July 22, Taliban spokesman Qari
Hamza reportedly told Pajhwok Afghan News that their forces
would avenge their comrades who were killed in the fighting
in and around Bagh village. Malik Niyaz told us that a local
scratch force of 320 young men had taken up defensive
positions in key areas around the village to protect the
community. He complained that Afghan Army and Police ) as
well as Coalition Forces ) did not respond in force and in a
timely manner during the July 17 fighting. Only three
police, led by the local police chief, arrived at the remote
village in time to participate in the fight, he said. During
the fighting, Malik Niyaz had requested though Afghan
security forces that Coalition air power be dispatched to the
area. The Commander of the U.S. Special Troops Battalion
(STB) explained to him that confusion on the ground and the

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inability to distinguish villagers from insurgents made air
strikes too dangerous at the time. Malik Niyaz accepted the
explanation.


6. (S/REL NATO, ISAF) Another influential local, Malik Kamin
Azimi, urged provincial officials and Coalition Forces to
meet with them again to discuss a security plan to assist
villagers. The PRT and STB commanders, as well as the
Governor's representative, agreed. The commanders of the PRT
and Agri-Business Development Team (ADT) also agreed to a
separate meeting to discuss possible development projects for
the area, in an effort to show villagers the benefits of an
effective government.

From Insult to Open War
--------------


7. (S/REL NATO, ISAF) By most accounts from those who were on
the scene, local resistance against insurgents was not the
result of patriotic Afghans standing up to the enemies of
their government. Instead, the clash began when insurgents,
who were milling around the village, insulted Malik Niyaz for
hosting his nephew, an Afghan National Army (ANA) sergeant
who was on leave and staying with him. Eight male members of
Malik Niyaz' family responded to the insult by confronting
the insurgents, who included local Taliban Commander Mullah
Abdul Qayum. The insurgents opened fire, killing two of the
eight locals. Villagers immediately responded, opening fire
on Qayum and another insurgent. Witnesses said Abdul Qayum
was wounded by gunfire, then stoned to death by villagers.
Malik Niyaz told us he ordered all males in his family to
attack the insurgents, and they were joined by a reported
5,000 villagers, who drove the insurgents from the area, he
said.

Comment
--------------


8. (S/NF) The local uprising against the Taliban in the
Mamand Valley of Nangarhar is an opportunity. Over the past
eight months, the PRT's State Department Representative has
been meeting regularly with maliks and other tribal leaders
from isolated mountain villages and mountain passes near the
Pakistani border to establish relationships and promote the
district, provincial and national government in areas that
rarely see the effects of state power. The PRT's State and
other representatives have also met regularly with family
members of insurgents, who provide shelter, food and other
assistance to anti-government forces. The PRT's goal is to
convince, cajole, or scare them away from assisting the
insurgents, and to help them recognize the benefits of siding
with the Afghan government. The local resistance against the
Taliban in the Mamand Valley appears to be spontaneous and
unrelated to the PRT's outreach efforts, as family, village
and tribal ties tend to outweigh national loyalty in the
isolated communities along the Pakistani border.
Nevertheless, the PRT, STB and ADT are working with the
provincial government to exploit and widen the gap that
appears to have opened between the populace and insurgents in
parts of the Mamand Valley.


9. (S/NF) Comment Continued. After the July 23 meeting, the
PRT arranged a roundtable discussion on the local affiliate
of RTA television, which included Malik Niyaz and local
officials describing their resistance against the Taliban in
the Mamand Valley. The program was also converted to radio
spots, to ensure residents in other remote parts of Nangarhar
are aware of the example set by the Rahimdad Khiel sub-tribe,
and encourage others to follow suit. The PRT and STB also
plan to coordinate closely with provincial and district
security officials to organize a security plan to support the
residents of the Mamand Valley against the Taliban. End
Comment.


10. (S/NF) TF Mountain Warrior Commander Colonel Randy George
has reviewed this cable.
EIKENBERRY