Taliban’s new leader Mullah Mansoor calls for unity, vows to continue fighting
Asia-Pacific, News August 1, 2015 2 Comments on Taliban’s new leader Mullah Mansoor calls for unity, vows to continue fightingTaliban’s new leader has vowed to continue fighting while urging unity among his follower on Saturday in his first statement since becoming the head of the organisation.
Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor has recently been elected as leader of the group, following the death of long-serving leader Mullah Mohammad Omar.
A 30-minute audio clip has been released which is believed to be a speech by Mansoor. In it, he calls for unity amongst fighters in a bid to quell growing factions.
“We have to continue our jihad, we shouldn’t be suspicious of each other. We should accept each other” says the man purported be to new Taliban leader, Mullah Mansoor, in audio messge.
“Whatever happens must comply with Sharia law, whether that be jihad, or talks, or an invitation to either. Our decisions all must be based on Sharia law.”
“We should keep our unity, we must be united, our enemy will be happy in our separation” he says.
“This is a big responsibility for us. This is not the work of one, two or three people. This is all our responsibility to carry on jihad until we establish the Islamic state.”
The new Taliban leader did not endorse or reject the emerging peace talks with the Afghan government despite the fact that Mansoor has been effectively running the Taliban for more than two years, according to the government. A second round of talks, which was scheduled to begin Friday in Pakistan, has been indefinitely postponed.
However, some expect that the new Taliban leadership could somehow pave the way towards peace and lead to an end to years of fighting.
According to a Guardian report, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor has an unexpected reputation as a relative moderate and vigorous proponent of peace talks. He was a founding member of the group, who knew Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden personally, but kept a relatively low profile until the deaths and arrests of more prominent insurgent fighters thrust him to power.
“He is known among fighters in the field as more into peace talks than Mullah Omar, and less strict,” said one Taliban commander who asked to stay anonymous.
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[…] officially replaced Mullah Omar, the founder of the Taliban, as the group’s emir in August 2015 when Omar’s death was […]
[…] officially replaced Mullah Omar, the founder of the Taliban, as the group’s emir in August 2015 when Omar’s death was […]