TALUQAN (SW) – Armed clashes between rival armed groups in Takhar province has claimed at least 18 lives.
Security sources told Salam Watandar the armed groups have been engaged in clashes in Rustaq, Kalafgan, Shakmash and Chah Ab districts for the past two weeks now. According to the sources 22 people have been injured in these clashes.
Hundreds of homes have been seriously damaged and residents forced to flee due to the mortar shells fired by the rival gangs of illegally armed men.
A number of Chah Ab residents said the fighting has been going on, but the local administration is taking no actions to ensure their security. Nabiullah, one such resident said, fighting can flare-up any time again.
Residents in the provincial capital, Taluqan, said the presence of illegally armed men is growing here day by day.
Esmat Qurbani, a member of the provincial council, said these illegally armed gangs are proving worse than the Taliban, but the government and local administration are taking no actions against them. He said killings, robberies and extortion are on the rise here.
When contacted, spokesman for the police headquarters, Hashmat Muslim, acknowledged the growing insecurity. He stressed there is a need for grand consensus on the provincial level against such armed gangs.
ENDS
