LASHKARGAH (SW): Officials in Helmand province have said the security forces have ‘strategically retreated’ from Sangin province.
This comes as the Taliban claimed to have overrun this district. Sangin is among the most contested district in the Afghan insurgency since the fall of the Taliban regime in late 2001. The Ministry of Defense (MoD) in Kabul, however, has rejected reports about fall of the district. In a statement issued on Thursday, the MoD said the security forces have went on ‘a strategic retreat’.
Omar Zwak, spokesman for the provincial governor, told Salam Watandar, the security forces vacated the district’s centre to avoid civilian casualties in clashes with the rebels. “The forces have chosen to move to another area within two kilometres of the district’s centre”, he said.
Meanwhile, a well-placed security source told Salam Watandar that the Taliban’s siege of the district’s centre cut-off the supply line to forces there, which led to the retreat to Shakat Shela area.
Meanwhile, Bashir Kakar, member of the provincial council, has lamented this move. He fears vacating Sangin would leave negative impacts on the province. Haji Mera Jan, director for civil society in Helmand, has criticized both the government forces and the Taliban militants for inflicting casualties and forcing thousands of civilians to flee their homes.
Meanwhile, Qari Yosuf Ahmad, the Taliban’s spokesman in the south, has said in a message that the district administration’s headquarters, the police headquarters, and the provincial reconstruction team’s offices have been taken under control.
ENDS
