MIAMANA (SW): A number of soldiers from the third army battalion, who are besieged in Ghormach district of Faryab by the Taliban, said that they have not received food and equipment, and if the situation continues, they will leave their bases and eventually ‘a human disaster will occur’.
The soldiers said they have not been equipped since four months because of the closure of the Maimana-Ghormach route on the military convoys, and since 20 days the Taliban's aggressive attacks on the security bases have also increased in the district.
One of the soldiers who did not want to be named told Salam Watandar that after the fall of Ghormach to the Taliban, every day their siege gets narrower, but so far, local and central authorities have not taken any action in this regard.
According to the soldier, there are currently around 400 soldiers of the army's third battalion in 4 parts of the district, are surrounded by the Taliban group. He claimed that the soldiers do not have contact with the base.
Another soldier, who wished to remain anonymous, said except a barrel of water, there is nothing to eat and drink. “The lack of supplies to the army's third battalion in Ghormach shows that it is likely these soldiers have been sold”, added the soldier.
Abdullah Waqif, the chief of Ghormach district, also confirming the statements of the soldiers, said after the fall of the district in the hands of the Taliban, a number of security forces’ bodies and wounded soldiers have been transferred from Ghormach, but the rest of the forces have not been equipped who are under the siege of the Taliban.
Nusrat Jamshidi, the deputy spokesman for the 209th Shaheen Corps, rejecting the allegations, said the third battalion of the army under the siege of the Taliban has been supplied. According to him, commando forces have also been sent to Ghormach, and operations will begin soon to retake the district.
The Ghormach district fell to the Taliban last week, but after one week, operations have not yet begun to retake the district.
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