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A senior military commander in Afghanistan ordered residents to leave the besieged city of Rashkar Gah in southern Afghanistan. After three days of fierce fighting, the army is preparing to launch a large-scale offensive to eliminate Taliban fighters.
Since the final phase of the withdrawal of foreign troops in May, the Taliban have controlled most of the rural areas of Afghanistan, but the focus is now Occupy the provincial capital, Where they encountered stronger resistance.
Fighting is going on in Rashkar Gah, the southern capital of Helmand Province, and the United Nations says that at least 40 civilians have been killed in the past 24 hours.
General Samisadat, commander of 215 Maiwand Afghan Army Corps, told residents to leave as soon as possible.
“Please leave as soon as possible so that we can start,” he said in a message sent to this city of 200,000 people through the media.
“I know it’s hard for you to leave home—and it’s hard for us—but if you are displaced for a few days, please forgive us. No matter where the Taliban are, we are fighting them. We will fight them… We will not let A Taliban is alive,” he said.
Al Jazeera’s James Bay reported in Kabul that this was a “very dramatic” move that took place after one of the fiercest days of fighting for the city.
“This is what they decided to do, although they might let people leave their homes and walk into a front-line war zone. There have been so many conflicts in recent days.”
“It may also mean that many people will be displaced-where are these thousands of people going?”
Al Jazeera’s Charlotte Bellis also reported in Kabul, saying that the army’s decision was “unprecedented.”
“The Afghan army’s strategy of sending special forces and air strikes really puts civilians at risk because it means they have to fight street-to-street in densely populated areas and use aerial bombs,” she said.
Bayliss said: “This may be why they say,’We have to try other methods, because we have not had much impact, but put our people at risk.'”
Bayliss added: “The video released by the Taliban today looked calm on the street, walking around and showing off.”
Officials said earlier that Taliban militants had occupied more than a dozen local radio and television stations in Lashkar Gah, and only one channel supporting the Taliban was left broadcasting Islamic programs.
“The fighting was very fierce this morning,” Sefatula, director of the city’s Sukon radio station, told AFP.
He said that US and Afghan Air Force planes attacked Taliban positions, and fighting continued in the city’s prison and near the headquarters of the police and intelligence agencies.
At the same time, the United Nations called for “an immediate end to the fighting in urban areas.”
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) wrote on Twitter: “As the fighting worsens, concerns about Afghan civilians are growing.”
Deepen concerns about Afghan civilians #拉什卡加 As the battle worsened. The latest report shows that in the past 24 hours, the Taliban continued to conduct ground attacks and the Afghan army tried to repel, resulting in 118 civilians injured and 40 dead. The United Nations urged the immediate cessation of fighting in urban areas. #Afghanistan https://t.co/7XNlBYJSzo
-UNAMA News (@UNAMAnews) August 3, 2021
In recent days, the U.S. military has stepped up air strikes across the country to prevent the Taliban from attacking.
“The Taliban are everywhere in the city, and you can see them on the street on a motorcycle. They are arresting or shooting people with smartphones,” a Lashkar Gah resident who asked not to be named told AFP.
“The Taliban are in the people’s houses and the government is bombing them. About 20 houses near me were bombed and they are fighting on the streets,” he added.
The loss of Lashkar Gah will be a huge strategic and psychological blow for the government. After throwing most of the rural areas to the Taliban in recent months, the government promised to defend the city at all costs.
In the western city of Herat, also under siege, hundreds of residents chanted “God is the greatest” on the roof on Monday night after government forces countered the latest Taliban attack.
Officials said that government forces have successfully repelled the Taliban from several places in Herat-including near the airport, which is crucial for supplies.
‘War crimes’
At the same time, on Monday, Washington and London accused the Taliban of atrocities. May constitute a “war crime” Last month, the organization captured the town of Spin Boldak along the border with Pakistan.
The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission earlier stated that the Taliban had committed retaliatory killings of at least 40 people.
“The Taliban hunted down and identified past and current government officials, and killed those who had no combat role in the conflict,” the organization said.
US Secretary of State Anthony Brinken stated that if the Taliban seek to “take the country by force and commit the kind of atrocities that have been reported,” the international recognition the Taliban wants will not be achieved.
The humanitarian organization Save the Children said on Tuesday that about 80,000 children have been displaced by fighting across the country since early June, adding that many schools and health facilities have also been damaged.
Irene McCarthy, the propaganda manager of the Norwegian Refugee Council, told Al Jazeera that the surge in violence has made the already precarious humanitarian situation in the country worse.
“We have seen record civilian casualties and massive civilian displacement. Since the beginning of this year, we have seen more than 350,000 Afghans newly displaced by the conflict. This has led to huge humanitarian needs,” McCarthy said.
“Before the height of the recent conflict, more than half of the population needed assistance,” she added.
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