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Fight for Afghan city rages despite govt claim of upper hand
GHAZNI, Afghanistan, Aug 12, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The fight for the eastern
Afghan city of Ghazni entered its third day as Taliban militants and security
forces engaged in heavy clashes Sunday, despite Kabul’s claim that the city
was firmly under government control.
An AFP reporter on the ground said Taliban fighters continued to roam the
city, torching government offices, and were in control of several police
checkpoints, as reinforcements deployed from Kabul slowly entered the area to
confront the insurgents.
Residents hid in their homes or attempted to flee the fighting, with basic
provisions increasingly scarce and expensive, according to residents and
officials.
“The situation is chaotic,” Amanullah Kamrani, deputy head of the Ghazni
provincial council, told AFP from Kabul.
“In Ghazni, only the police headquarters, governor’s office and a few
departments are under Afghan forces’ control — the rest are under the
Taliban fighters’ control,” he added.
Ghazni resident Rahmatullah Andar described similar scenes in an interview
with broadcaster Tolonews, saying fighting continued to rage in large swathes
of the city and outlying districts.
“There are not sufficient forces to repel the Taliban fighters. We have
not witnessed such a large scale attack by the Taliban before,” said Andar.
Mobile services in the city remained down after militants damaged a
telecommunication tower and targeted several media offices in Ghazni, making
information difficult to verify.
The descriptions stood in stark contrast to statements from Afghan and US
officials, who said government forces were firmly in control of the city and
vowed that Ghazni was in no danger of being seized by the Taliban.
The Afghan military said a clearance operation targeting Taliban fighters
was ongoing, insisting they remained in control of key government offices.
“The Taliban are hiding in people’s houses and shops… to avoid civilian
casualties our forces are moving in slowly,” said General Sharif Yaftali,
Afghanistan’s top military official, during a press conference Sunday.
Ghazni — around two hours by road from the capital Kabul — has been
under increasing danger from massing Taliban fighters for months, with
reports suggesting insurgents had infiltrated the city at will.
The onslaught was the latest attempt by the Taliban to overrun an urban
centre and comes as pressure increases on the insurgents to begin peace talks
with the government to end the nearly 17-year-old war.
The attack was the largest tactical operation launched by the Taliban
since an unprecedented truce in June brought fighting between security forces
and the Taliban to a temporary pause, providing war-weary Afghans some
welcome relief.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1645 hrs