{"id":1808,"date":"2018-06-05T15:56:57","date_gmt":"2018-06-05T15:56:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/?p=1808"},"modified":"2018-06-05T15:56:57","modified_gmt":"2018-06-05T15:56:57","slug":"taliban-commander-orders-closure-of-opium-labs-in-towns-and-cities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/2018\/06\/05\/taliban-commander-orders-closure-of-opium-labs-in-towns-and-cities\/","title":{"rendered":"Taliban commander orders closure of opium labs in towns and cities"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Taliban<\/a> commander in the Afghan province of Helmand has ordered all drug labs to be moved out of the urban areas the insurgency controls as US airstrikes targeting the facilities are killing a rising number of civilians, according to a recorded conversation obtained by the Guardian.<\/p>\n

In a walkie-talkie conversation with his secretary shared on a Taliban WhatsApp group, the Taliban\u2019s shadow governor of Helmand, Mullah Manan, said \u201cdue to one factory hundreds of the public are at risk from bombings and missiles\u201d and called for facilities to shift to \u201cmountains and valley sides\u201d instead.<\/p>\n

The recording, which was verified by experts on the Taliban, provides a rare insight into their operations, and shows how the Trump administration\u2019s looser rules of engagement in Afghanistan<\/a> are shifting dynamics in the 17-year-old war.<\/p>\n

Although America\u2019s \u201cmini-surge\u201d has made little progress against the Taliban<\/a>, according to a report from the US\u2019s own watchdog released on Monday, Mullah Manan\u2019s message suggests the Islamist movement fears local discontent as airstrikes target drugs labs in built-up areas.<\/p>\n

The Taliban control most of the opium trade in Afghanistan, the world\u2019s major source of the drug, where production rose a record 87% last year, according to UN figures.<\/p>\n

After years in which the US airforce avoided hitting opium labs for fear of alienating local populations, it has targeted them for the last six months as part of a campaign to choke off the estimated $200m (\u00a3148m) in yearly revenue they earn for the Taliban. Bombing raids nearly tripled in the first three months of this year, compared with 2017.<\/p>\n

In the message, Mullah Manan said: \u201cDrones are roaming in the air and they have made men, women and children scared because of bombing. We must strictly explain to people that if they do not stop drugs factories in public houses they will go to jail.\u201d<\/p>\n