ASSADABAD (SW) – Dozens of families have been forced to flee Ghazniabad area of Kunar province by the Taliban insurgents, said locals.
Over the past week and a half, the Taliban have stepped up operations in Ghaziabad, a remote mountainous district in eastern Kunar province, where hundreds of families have been displaced due to the tense situation. Residents of the district said the Taliban have blocked the roads leading to Ghaziabad with stones and have cut off water supply to civilians.
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Halim, a local told Salam Watandar that the security situation in Ghaziabad was “worrying” and that if it continued, all civilians would be forced to flee the district. About 500 families have been displaced from Ghaziabad so far, he said.
The internally displaced person said the government should take serious steps to control the situation in their area, otherwise the entire Narai districts could face the same fate.
Meanwhile, the director for refugee and returnee affairs, Abdul Rashid Safi, asserted that that so far they have been relocated more than 200 displaced families. He said that a joint team of relevant aid agencies have provided emergency assistance to displaced families in Asmar district and the remaining families would be assisted soon.
According to him, the refugees from Ghaziabad have been relocated to Asmar, Shigal district, Asadabad, Narang and some other areas.
On the other end, security officials in Kunar acknowledged the concerns of civilians in Ghaziabad district, saying the Taliban had blocked water supply and roads for civilians in the district. Colonel Mohammad Yusuf Mazlumyar, the Kunar police chief, told Salam Watandar that the Taliban wanted to put pressure on the people to for the sake of infiltration in the area. “Taliban are trying to find a way to enter the district,” he said. “Currently, they have encroached upon the main road of Ghaziabad district, harassing the people in order to spread fear.”
Commander Mazlumyar said they assured the people that the security forces were in the area and would soon return the security situation to normal.
Meanwhile, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, when asked by Salam Watandar about this, did not respond.
ENDS
