[ad_1]
Afghanistan has seen a spike in violence over the past week, with the Taliban launching attacks in several provinces even as negotiators from the armed group and the Afghan government are still in the Qatari capital for talks aimed at bringing peace to the country. .
A major Taliban assault last week on Lashkar Gah, capital of the southern Helmand province, sparked days of heavy fighting and prompted the United States to launch airstrikes in support of its allied government forces.
Tens of thousands of people are estimated to have fled their homes since then to escape the violence, which has overwhelmed the hospitals in Lashkar Gah.
Fighting continued Monday in some areas of Helmand’s Nad Ali and Nawa districts. In addition to Helmand, the Taliban in recent days have also carried out attacks in Badakhshan, Kunduz, Farah and Kandahar provinces.
Faced with an increase in violence and delays in starting the historic Doha negotiations, many Afghans say peace is far from guaranteed.
This is what we know so far:
How it began?
On October 11, the Taliban launched a major offensive from different directions in an attempt to capture Lashkar Gah, Omer Zwak, spokesman for the provincial governor in Helmand, told Al Jazeera. The group’s fighters invaded the security checkpoints, while several districts (Babaji, Cha-e-anjir, Nad-e-Ali / Marja and Nawa-e-Barakzaiy) were also attacked.
Two days later, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Afghanistan said that the road between Kandahar and Lashkar Gah was inaccessible due to the presence of improvised explosive devices.
Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem told Al Jazeera that the group’s fighters were taking back districts that were previously under their control, but were retaken by Afghan security forces a few months ago.
The Taliban control most of Helmand province and have carried out several attacks to capture Lashkar Gah in recent years, but their fighters have been repulsed by Afghan security forces on each occasion.
How have civilians been affected?
As fighting escalated and the security situation around Lashkar Gah deteriorated, tens of thousands of people fled to the provincial capital.
The Afghan authorities estimate that 35,000 people (some 5,000 families) have been displaced by the fighting. However, OCHA’s Afghanistan office told Al Jazeera that evaluation teams from various organizations were still verifying these figures, with 5,000 people confirmed so far.
“Yesterday, around 300 families or approximately 2,100 people from Nawa-e-Barakzaiy have recently been displaced within the Nawa district,” he said on Monday.
OCHA also said that the deployed teams were serving the needs of those sheltering in different parts of Lashkar Gah who may need food, water and temporary spaces to live immediately.
Health facilities have also been affected by the clashes, some operating with reduced capacity and others completely closed.
OCHA said that seven health centers in the districts of Nad-e-Ali / Marja, Nahr-e-Saraj, Lashkar Gah and Nawa closed on October 14 after health workers received threats.
The medical charity Doctors Without Borders (Doctors Without Borders, or MSF) told Al Jazeera that as the main trauma hospital in Lashkar Gah continues to be “under pressure,” it has focused on “ensuring continuity of services in the Boost Provincial Hospital, supported by MSF, for the wounded, but also those who need to access their usual services.
MSF Afghanistan said that between October 11 and 16 it received 56 people, including pregnant women and children. Some of the patients were injured by projectiles, explosions and gunshots, while others had suffered fractures.
“In addition, in our emergency room, we admitted 33 people who had been displaced by the fighting, but these people were admitted for medical conditions that were not related to direct injuries sustained during the fighting,” said MSF Afghanistan.
In all, at least 200 people, including women, have been killed and injured, according to OCHA.
US-Taliban Blame Each Other; why?
Following pressure from the Taliban on Lashkar Gah and the seizure of security controls, the United States launched air strikes against the group’s fighters in support of the Afghan security forces.
This was a rare US military intervention since signing an agreement in February with the Taliban on the withdrawal of troops in exchange for security guarantees from the armed group.
The document signed in Doha also included a commitment by the Taliban to sit down with the Kabul administration to find a peaceful settlement to decades of war.
Shortly after the airstrikes, Colonel Sonny Leggett, a spokesman for the US military in Afghanistan, said on Twitter that the recent Taliban attacks on Helmand were “not consistent” with the US-Taliban agreement and undermined talks of ongoing peace in Doha.
He insisted the airstrikes did not violate the February agreement, a position rejected by the Taliban.
“The entire content of the agreement between the United States and the Islamic Emirate is unequivocal, but the opposite side has violated its commitments numerous times, it is engaging in provocative actions,” the Taliban said in a statement Sunday, warning that “all responsibility and consequences of the continuation of such actions will fall squarely on the shoulders of the American side ”.
The US military quickly dismissed the Taliban’s accusation.
“The US airstrikes on Helmand and Farah have been and continue to be solely in defense of the ANDSF, as they are being targeted by the Taliban,” Leggett said on Twitter, referring to the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF).
“The entire world has witnessed the Taliban’s offensive operations in Helmand, attacks that injured and displaced thousands of innocent Afghan civilians,” Leggett added.
Under the agreement, the Taliban said they would not attack cities, while the United States said it would refrain from attacking fighters except to defend Afghan forces.
Afghan officials accused the Taliban of violating the deal with the assault on Lashkar Gah.
Naeem, the Taliban spokesman, told Al Jazeera that the United States has “bombed places where there was no conflict. They are also bombing the places where the fighting is already stopped ”.
On Friday, the Taliban said they would halt their operations if the United States stopped its airstrikes on Helmand.
What is happening in the intra-Afghan peace talks?
The escalation of violence comes more than a month after representatives of the Taliban and delegates from the Afghan government arrived in Doha for intra-Afghan talks.
A “contact group” consisting of six members from each side was established to establish the “terms and conditions”, paving the way for the initiation of formal negotiations between the two parties.
But the discussions appear to have stalled due to disagreements over establishing a basic framework for the negotiations.
On Monday, Naeem said the contact group met to discuss “the disagreements and it was emphasized that a final understanding on the peace process should be reached as soon as possible.”
However, Bashir Ahmad Shakir, a former member of the Helmand provincial council, told Al Jazeera that Afghans have doubts about the Taliban’s seriousness towards peace.
“They [Taliban] They are talking about peace in Doha, but they are doing the opposite by attacking houses, properties, roads and sowing fear among the people. The Afghan people, especially the people of Helmand, no longer want the presence of the Taliban here, ”he said.
“We doubt his sincerity towards the peace talks.”
The Taliban have been fighting the Afghan government since it was ousted from power in a US-led invasion in 2001. Washington blamed the then-ruling Taliban for harboring al-Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden. Al-Qaeda was accused of planning the 9/11 attacks.
US President Donald Trump, who is seeking reelection on November 3, said earlier this month that all US troops in Afghanistan should be “home by Christmas.”
His statement came hours after his national security adviser said Washington would reduce its forces in Afghanistan to 2,500 by early next year.
Additional reporting from Mohsin Khan Momand in Kabul.
[ad_2]
