The U.S. and the UK have accused the Taliban of "war crimes" in Kandahar province's southern town of Spin Boldak, claiming that dozens of civilians were massacred.
Taliban Fighters Assaulted Three Provincial Capitals
In a recently published article in France24, Afghan troops fought to save the first major city from getting captured by the Taliban on Monday as the U.S and the UK accused the militants of "massacring people" in a village near the Pakistan border that they just seized.
Overnight, Taliban militants attacked at least three provincial capitals: Lashkar Gah, Kandahar, and Herat. Thousands of people fled the approaching militants after a weekend of intense combat. The Taliban conducted synchronized assaults on the city center and jail in Helmand's provincial capital, Lashkar Gah, only hours after the government announced the deployment of hundreds of commandos to the region.
The conflict has escalated since early May, with the Taliban seizing the last phases of the US-led foreign troops' departure after almost two decades in the nation. Overnight, fighting resumed in the southern Afghan city of Lashkar Gah, as Afghan troops repelled a new Taliban assault, according to a published article in MSN News.
Afghan President Blames the U.S. for the Detoriarating Security
President Ashraf Ghani blamed the country's worsening security on the United States' decision to remove troops abruptly, according to a published article in NDTV. Ghani said that the departure of the U.S. troops will have consequences and that he had informed Washington about them.
Meanwhile, Ghani claimed that the situation in the war-torn country would be under control within six months when he presented his security plan to parliament on Monday, adding that the US has promised its complete assistance. However, the details of its plan have not yet been made public.
U.S. Offers Refugee Resettlement
The State Department stated in a statement on Monday that, in light of increasing Taliban violence, the U.S. government is trying to offer refugee resettlement opportunities to select Afghans, including individuals who cooperated and worked with the U.S.
Current and former workers of US-based news organizations, US-based assistance and development agencies, and other humanitarian organizations that receive U.S. money will be among those targeted. Employees of the U.S. government and NATO military operations who do not fulfill the requirements for a specialized program for such personnel are also covered.
Casualties in the Escalating Fighting Mount
In a recently published article in ALJAZEERA, Doctors Without Border, a medical organization, claimed that the death toll in Lashkar Gah was rising. Sarah Leahy, the aid group's coordinator for Helmand, said in a statement, "There has been relentless gunfire, airstrikes, and mortars in densely populated areas. Houses are being bombed, and many people are suffering severe injuries."
One of the locals also said that the city was experiencing numerous dilemmas. Fighting takes place, power outages are occuring, communications networks are down, ill people crowd hospitals, medicines are not available, and pharmacies are closed.
The fall of Lashkar Gah would be a major psychological and strategic setback for the government, which has vowed to protect provincial capitals at all costs after losing most of the countryside to the Taliban earlier this year.
