TRIBAL REVOLT AGAINST THE TALIBAN IN NANGAHAR'S

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 002148

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (HANDLING INST)

NOFORN
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

KABUL 00002148 001.2 OF 002


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.

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)
thatQhey intended to defend their village against a
threatened insurgent counter-attack, and that they needed
more weapons and ammunition. Note: Coalition Forces do not
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

KABUL 00002148 002.2 OF 002


dispatched to the area. The Commander of the U.S. Special
Troops Battalion (STB) explained to him that confusion on
the ground and the 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