Victorious, Taliban face fierce new test in Afghanistan

KABUL (HRNW) – Having conquered Afghanistan, the Taliban now face the formidable task of keeping the peace within their own ranks and running a country on the brink of ruin, experts say.

To outsiders, the hardliners may appear homogenous and united on all ideological and strategic matters.

But like any other large political organisation, the decades-old Islamist group has its divisions, rivalries, allegiances and factions.

The fissures were largely kept in check during the 20-year effort to defeat US-led foreign troops and a Kabul government widely reviled as corrupt.

With that common enemy vanquished, just weeks into Taliban rule, the group s divisions appear to be coming into sharper relief.