Qala-e-Naw ( prs, قلعه نو) is a town in Qala e Naw District and the capital of Badghis Province, in north-west

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. Its population was estimated at 9,000 in 2006, of which 80% are

Tajiks Tajiks ( fa, تاجيک، تاجک, ''Tājīk, Tājek''; tg, Тоҷик) are a Persian-speaking Iranian ethnic group native to Central Asia, living primarily in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Tajiks are the largest ethnicity in Taj ...

Hazaras The Hazaras ( fa, , Həzārə; haz, , Āzərə) are an ethnic group and the principal component of the population of Afghanistan, native to, and primarily residing in the Hazaristan (Hazarajat) region in central Afghanistan and generally scatt ...

, and

Aimaq Hazara The Aimaq Hazara (Hazara-e qala-e naw); ( prs, ایماق هزاره, Aimāq Hazāra) are the Aimaq's subtribe of Hazara origin, however, they are Sunni Muslims while most other Hazaras are Shia Muslims. The Aimaq Hazara consists of 38 subtrib ...

. Other significant communities include

Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically r ...

Balochs The Baloch or Baluch ( bal, بلۏچ, Balòc) are an Iranian people who live mainly in the Balochistan region, located at the southeasternmost edge of the Iranian plateau, encompassing the countries of Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. There ar ...

and

Uzbeks The Uzbeks ( uz, , , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the wider Central Asian region, being among the largest Turkic ethnic group in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakh and Karakalpak mino ...

. The city of Qala-e-naw has a population of 64,125 people (2015) with 6 Police districts (nahias) and a total land area of 3,752 Hectares. There are 7,125 total number of dwellings in Qala-e-Naw. Qala-e-naw is the provincial capital of Badghis Province. Qala-e-Naw is a Provincial Centre located in western Afghanistan north of the Paropamisus Mountains (

Selseleh-ye Safīd Kūh The Paropamisus Mountains
on www.ezilon.com (locally known as Selseleh-ye Safīd KūhQala i Naw Airport Qala i Naw Airport ; ( prs, میدان هوایی قلعه نو) is a small airport serving the city of Qala i Naw in Badghis Province, Afghanistan. It is also known as Qala Nau Airport. It previously had scheduled services with the now defunct ...

. On 7 July 2021, the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...

began an assault on the town which culminated in defeat by Afghan forces. 69 Taliban fighters were killed, and 23 were injured. The city was captured by the Taliban on 12 August 2021, around the same time as the fall of

Herat Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safē ...

, becoming the thirteenth provincial capital to be seized as part of the wider

2021 Taliban offensive A military offensive by the Taliban insurgent group and other allied militants led to the fall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan based in Kabul and marked the end of the nearly 20-year-old War in Afghanistan, that had begun following the ...

Climate

Qala i Naw has a

cold semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''BSk''), with hot summers and cold winters. Precipitation is low, and mostly falls in winter.

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Badghis Province Badghis Province Provincial capitals in Afghanistan