US-supplied Assault Weapons Are Now On Sale At Gun Shops In Afghan Markets

Thousands of American-made weapons and tons of military equipment were seized by the militants as government military bases surrendered or were overrun during US military withdrawal and the Taliban takeover in August.

Now, those guns and accessories are being openly sold in shops by Afghan gun dealers who paid government soldiers and Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan.

Originally provided to the Afghan security forces

During interview with The New York Times, 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.

AP

The equipment was originally provided to the Afghan security forces under a US 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.

Costly consequence of the failed US mission

The loss of tens of millions of dollars in American-made weapons and gear is yet another costly consequence of the failed, 20-year mission to Afghanistan. It ended in chaos and upheaval when the Taliban seized Kabul on Aug 15 after crushing an Afghan military built, trained and funded by the United States.

The Indian Express

Over the years, the United States provided the Afghan military with a huge array of arms and vehicles, including M4 carbines, rockets, A-29 light attack aircraft, Humvees, and copious ammunition for assault rifles and machine guns, according to a recent report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.

Taliban denied weapons being sold in market

For the two previous fiscal years ending in June, the amount spent on the Afghan military totaled $2.6 billion. The Pentagon on Monday acknowledged that a large number of American-supplied arms remained in Afghanistan. But the Taliban denied that any of those weapons were hitting the market.

In an interview with The Times, a Taliban spokesman, Bilal Karimi, said that weapons were not for sale. ¡°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.¡±

Other Taliban figures confirm gun trade

Other Taliban figures, however, have confirmed that a big wave of American weapons has hit the market.

NYT

This summer, troves of US-supplied weapons were either stolen and sold by Afghan security forces, or seized by the Taliban as they negotiated wholesale surrenders in which soldiers and police handed over such weapons and equipment in exchange for Taliban promises to spare their lives. Other times, uniforms, weapons and gear were simply abandoned by Afghan soldiers and police as they deserted.

Some soldiers sold weapons, negotiated surrenders

Some soldiers and police sold their weapons and ammunition before they negotiated their surrenders. Weapons dealers would pay about $1,200 for a single US-service Beretta M9 handgun, the gun merchants said ¡ª far more than a soldier¡¯s monthly salary, at a time when many police and soldiers were not being paid or resupplied with ammunition, food or water.

NYT

American M4 carbines sell for about $4,000, the dealers said, especially if equipped with a laser sight or under-barrel grenade launcher. In contrast, a Kalashnikov rifle sells for about $900, the dealers said, and a Russian-made rocket-propelled grenade launcher for about $1,100. Pistols that NATO forces supplied to Afghan police officers sell for about $350. Almost all their transactions are in Pakistani rupees, and in cash, the dealers said.

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