LASHKARGAH (SW ) – Heavy clashes continued in parts of Kandahar, Helmand and Herat as the security forces moved to quash the advancing Taliban.
Helmand MP Ghulam Wali Afghan told Salam Watandar that the security situation in the capital Lashkargah was tense and thousands of families were stranded. According to him, a fierce battle was going on in Helmand Police Headquarters, Governor’s Office, Prisons and National Directorate of Security (NDS) in which civilians have also been killed.
Deputy Interior Minister Ahmad Zia Zia has said the security forces had made progress in Lashkargah and more were being made.
However, the Taliban have denied these claims, saying fighting was still going on in Lashkargah over key government buildings.
Some Helmand residents also say that people’s homes have been destroyed, and some government buildings, including hospitals, have been destroyed in bombings and fighting.
Sardar Mohammad, a resident of Helmand, said the fighting had made people’s lives miserable and they were carrying their belongings here and there in panic. He said people are tired of the current situation and want peace in the country.
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In Kandahar, fighting has entered third week as thousands of families have been displaced.
Mohammad Daud Farhad, head of Mirwais Regional Hospital, told Salam Watandar that 22 civilians were injured and three bodies were taken to the hospital due to fighting and airstrikes and mortar shelling in the city last night.
Kandaharis are outraged by this situation and want the warring parties to have pity on them.
Abdul Ghani, a resident of Kandahar, said he had lost his father, brother and other family members in the ongoing fighting in the province as he called on the parties to end the fighting and make peace.
In the west, Herat security officials reported heavy fighting in the capital city.
Herat governor’s spokesman Jilani Farhad told Salam Watandar that the Taliban had attacked the city from seven directions last night. He said the Taliban had attacked some districts in addition to the city, but with the help of the air force, more than 100 insurgents had been killed.
Wahid Ahmad Kohistani, commander of Herat’s 10th police district, and two other soldiers were also killed in the clashes.
This is despite the fact that human rights groups and other international organizations have recently expressed concern over the escalation of the conflict in Afghanistan, adding that the number of civilian casualties is higher than any other time.
ENDS
