According to new reports, Afghan gun dealers buy and sell American arms that have been seized by Taliban-trained Afghan soldiers.
The New York Times spoke with three weapons dealers about this market.
The Times reports, “in interviews, three weapons dealers in Kandahar said that dozens of Afghans have set up weapons shops in Afghanistan’s south, selling American-made pistols, rifles, grenades, binoculars and night-vision goggles. The equipment was originally provided to the Afghan security forces under a U.S. training and assistance program that cost American taxpayers more than $83 billion through two decades of war.”
“During the insurgency, the Taliban eagerly sought out American-supplied weapons and gear. But now much of that weaponry is being sold to Afghan entrepreneurs because Taliban demand has eased with the end of combat, the gun merchants said.” They say that many gun dealers have smuggled the weapons to Pakistan, where demand for American-made weapons is strong,” the report details.
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Although the Pentagon claimed that advanced weapons had been disabled before the withdrawal began, there were thousands of small-sized weapons left.
“Since 2005, the U.S. military has provided the Afghan national defense and security forces with many thousands of small arms, ranging from pistols to medium machine guns,” Maj. Rob Lodewick was a spokesperson for the Defense Department.
Some weapons may even be sold in Pakistan, according to reports.
The Taliban’s official spokesperson has denied selling the weapons, however.
Bilal Karimi (a Taliban spokeswoman) stated that the weapons weren’t for sale in an interview with The New York Times. “I totally deny this; our fighters cannot be that careless,” he said. “Even a single person cannot sell a bullet in the market or smuggle it.”
Karimi added that captured weapons “are all listed, verified and are all saved and secure under the Islamic Emirate for the future army.”
The weapons were also sold to other Taliban members.
Wie berichtet, a billion dollars worth of US weapons went to Afghanistan by the Biden government.
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