The Afghan Resistance (Reupload) | ARTE.tv Documentary

[Music] [Music] say [Music] [Music] cabal a city straining under the Taliban Yoke the Afghan Capital seems to be looking inward once again weary of hoping for peace it has resigned itself to accepting its daily routine following our previous report last Autumn it's surprising to see such a deceptive normalization as embodied by these Taliban fighters who War the city streets unarmed no more issues yet it's in caral that we first make contact with the armed resistance in one of the city suburbs the man who has agreed to speak with us is a commander in the National resistance front he's the head of a family and he says he joined the resistance in his youth for his safety will refer to him as the commander only only un all the commander details his trips between Kell and the P Province the thft of the Armed resistance for he refuses to bring us to one of these secret meetings and advises us not to go to punier yet that is where the armed resistance is located in this Rebel Province located 2 hours drive north of carbo fore to get around the punch here there is only one road and it's in the valley it follows the course of the river and cuts across the province from north to south over a stretch of 100 km this region came under Taliban control after a large offensive against the resistance in September 2021 the resistance Fighters are thought to have retreated into the dangerous and inaccessible mountains the remains of Soviet tanks are a reminder that puner is where the resistance defeated the Russian Invader in the [Music] 1980s since last Autumn however new signs of conflict have been on display when when Taliban coming in here they exploding this cars they call it an error of assessment here there were no resistance fighters in those cars through their strangle hold on the valley the Taliban makes life difficult for the combatants whose weapons supply chain is cut off and they discover some we bins and that and then and then when they come back they have stay here and they make happiness and the fire that mountain in bazer the main city we're required to check in with the Taliban authorities the governor receives us at his headquarters malvi quadrula claims he played a major role in building the Islamic Emirate over the past 10 years and that he was behind several military attacks he's insistent on telling his [Music] story foree to prove his claims he orders his troops to take us on a check a few kilometers away [Music] [Applause] this area is a hot bed of traffickers and opponents of the regime yet it is a routine check that nearly goes wrong a Taliban Soldier has just searched a vehicle with women on board an act forbidden by the Islamic Emirate [Music] it is an incredible scene of Taliban soldiers ready to fight each other in front of foreign [Music] journalist order is restored and we meet the captain at police headqu [Music] alhamdulillah in pania every inhabitant claims to be a resistance fighter even if they're unarmed Rebellion flows through these mountains and Villages as does the allegiance to one family the muds Commander Ahmed Shah massud who was Victorious over the Soviets in 1989 and an IND aaable adversary of the first Taliban regime in the 1990s is considered a national hero here his son Ahmad the new leader of the resistance is equally as respected despite having to flee the valley when the Taliban arrived he continues the fight from [Music] abroad the elders in this Village explained that there were indeed resistance fighters in the mountains before the snow season but since then they have been waiting oh sad what foreign speee speeech foree spee foree [Music] no helicopters were shot down they were merely struck heroics keep hope [Music] alive away from prying eyes everyone wants to tell us their story this this young man prefers to remain anonymous our presence could draw the taliban's attention to these Villages so we quickly get back on the road we instead set off on a hunt to cross paner in an attempt to make contact with the mujahedin the resistance fighters who are HED up somewhere in these mountains [Music] we're set to be introduced at night a meeting that will take place away from The Villages near the river a few minutes later we begin a difficult Ascent over craggy paths with nothing to light the way but a small flashlight and the glow of the moon when we arrive at the encampment several dozen Mahin tell us they're proud to received the first Western journalist since the taliban's occupation of punia began they're proud that someone is taking an interest in [Music] them [Music] foree for among these Fighters are young people from all over the province former mujahedin Commander Mass's comrades Special Forces soldiers and public servants fore foreign speee fore for before leaving the encampment under the cover of Darkness these leaders suggest the imminent resumption of spring offensives some attacks did indeed take place but it will take more weapons and more than mere skirmishes to win back [Music] puner to understand how the opposition is organized we have to meet its head of operations Commander Ahmed massud and his support Duan the capital of Tajikistan is the place to go in order to establish contact in this small Republic to the northeast of Afghanistan the local authorities offer a kind welcome to the [Music] resistant the Afghan Ambassador is an essential contact he fought alongside Commander massud he doesn't hesitate to V voice his position breaking with diplomatic neutrality and unafraid of the risks he runs by upsetting the Taliban leaders many of the Commander's former comrades gravitate around his son Ahmed massud but the man who was just called in as reinforcement has been named leader of the entire resistance his is a Strategic Mission for the opposition movement against the Taliban it represents a new and crucial step a turning point in organizing the Guerilla Army [Music] spee for he assures us that his Fighters possess several training camps throughout Afghanistan and the resistance against the Taliban is conducted on every front including on social media the videos posted by Fighters galvanized the resistance and light The Beacon of Hope from one Valley to the [Music] next Ahmed massud never appears on social media in person he has not set for any inter since he left puner last Autumn he makes an exception for us granting an interview somewhere in Central Asia under very strict scrutiny the leader of the resistance is a target for the Taliban and terrorist groups we aren't allowed to film outside of this room very nice to very good to see thank you very much Cherry fortunately no I'm I'm I'm learning uate of a major European University he conducts this interview in English we are not being backed by any sort of a a foreign country we are a genuine group and know from Afghanistan based on the generosity of the Afghan people we are trying to resist and fight for and our country for our freedom and for democracy so for these reasons for these values the people right now they're having limited resources because of the limited resources the amount of personnel we having is limited but the people who want to join it is tremendous it's a lot the resistance leader acknowledges the fight is hard and asserts his bafflement the Afghans they have been the main victim of war and Terror for the past few decades so how come the war on terror was justifiable up to the 15th of August but it is not after 15th of August the African people they don't understand it so that's why they feel uh lonely and they feel that you know to some extent even betrayed so therefore we are fighting against International terrorism not just the Taliban so it is very important for the world to put pressure for their own sake as well to put pressure on the Taliban to create or to be able to be open up and to accept to realize this important important factor that Afghanistan and the legitimacy of the estate it needs to come from the people and there's a mechanism for it called election exactly Ahmad massud seemed very isolated that day when we asked how he was fairing he remained discreet well uh ever since the know the collapse of Cobble and everything that happened uh we are in touch with the people and we are uh trying to uh basically resist the current situation that Afghan people they living in uh unfortunately the know the situation is in a way in the security situation is in a way that I have to be on constant move and I have to be in constant uh sort of uh day and night work you know for for the situation in Afghanistan it's uh it's it's a drastic change but we are adapting to it [Music] before fleeing panir when the Taliban arrived Ahmed masud visited the grave of his father Commander Ahmed sha purged over the valley it faces the mountains the sight of these Taliban fighters guarding the morsum of a man who was once their enemy makes for a strange spectacle just as strange is the feeling induced by puner the Valley of the five Lions a land of extremes where fighting is a duty and resistance is a question of Honor [Music]

Channel: ARTE.tv Documentary

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Keywords: ARTE, TV, The Afghan Resistance, documentary, arte.tv documentary, free documentary, arte tv, documentaries, arte english, full documentary, arte.tv english, @artetvdocumentary, documentary 2023, Taliban, afghanistan, afghanistan resistance, afghanistan documentary, Massoud, Panjshir, Commander Ahmad Shah

Id: YGdLuooDA6I

Length: 24min 36sec (1476 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 26 2024