Will the Taliban Fall Apart After Mullah Omar’s Death?
CNN
By: Tim Lister
.
The Taliban acknowledged Thursday that their longtime leader Mullah Mohammed Omar has died, 24 hours after the Afghan government’s announcement that the reclusive Islamic cleric had passed away in Pakistan more than two years ago.
A brief statement from the Taliban in the Pashto language called Omar “the late leader of the faithful” but gave no further details of when, where or how he died.
Omar had not appeared in public since the Taliban regime’s overthrow in Afghanistan 14 years ago and made no video or authenticated audio statements in that time. In fact, many in the Taliban had not known for years whether he was alive or dead, let alone where he might be. And other militant groups had begun to ask what had become of him…
In an analysis published Thursday, political risk consultancy The Soufan Group said, “The news of Omar’s death will make peace in Afghanistan even more elusive and cause divisions within the Taliban; no new leader will emerge soon, and even if one does he will find it hard to gain control of the movement…
.
To read the full article please click on the link below:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/29/asia/mullah-omar-afghan-death/
.
