LASHKARGAH (SW): Residents in restive Helmand’s Nawa district have called for an urgent security operation to salvage the district from falling to the rebels.
In a gathering on Thursday, the elders from the district urged the government to take immediate measures. “All roads are closed, people are in very desperate situation, Helmand is in terrible state of security”, Haji Ahmad Khan, an elder said, adding the government should either act to improve the security situation or ‘leave it for good’. Ali Ahmad Nasiri, another elder, criticized the back to back ‘tactical retreats’ of the government forces. He said on the occasion there has been no headway for peace and stability.
According to the latest report by the U.S government's Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) 6,785 Afghan security force members were killed between January 1 and November 12 last year, with another 11,777 wounded. This represents 35 per cent rise to the same period a year before.
Meanwhile, Hayatullah Hayat, provincial governor, has vowed to reclaim the areas under the control of the Taliban. Hayat has stressed if the locals cooperate with the government forces, peace would be restored sooner than later. He said the government forces would bring back all areas under its control one by one with the locals’ support.
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