Heavy fighting as Afghan Taliban edge closer to Helmand capital

KANDAHAR // Fighting raged in Helmand province on Thursday after Afghanistan rushed military reinforcements to beat back Taliban insurgents advancing on the capital of the southern poppy-growing region.

Afghan forces fought back insurgents in Nawa district, south of Lashkar Gah city, on Wednesday, raising alarm that the provincial capital was at risk.

Afghan and US officials said they would not allow another urban centre to be captured, after the Taliban briefly overran northern Kunduz city last September in their biggest victory in 15 years of war.

“The security situation in Lashkar Gah is under our control,” said defence ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri.

“We have retaken control of Nawa. Fighting is still going on in the outskirts but we are making progress with clearance operations,” he said, adding that dozens of Taliban were killed in the fight.

Battles in recent days across Helmand, seen as the focal point of the insurgency, sent thousands of people fleeing to Lashkar Gah, resulting in a humanitarian crisis as officials reported food and water shortages.

The United States has stepped up air strikes supporting Afghan forces, highlighting the intensity of the battle in Helmand.

The turmoil underscored an unravelling security situation in Afghanistan.

About 30,000 people have been displaced in Helmand in recent weeks, officials said, with many of those fleeing to Lashkar Gah forced to abandon their lentil, maize and cotton crops during the lucrative harvest season.

“We left everything behind in Nawa – our house, our grape and maize harvests. We fled with 15 members of my family to Lashkar Gah, fearing for our lives,” Mohammad Ali, 40, said in a camp in the provincial capital.

“For the last three days we have been surviving on bread and water. We will die of hunger.”

The residents of Lashkar Gah said the city was besieged, with roads from neighbouring districts heavily mined by the insurgents.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said it had downscaled its team in Lashkar Gah, with some non-medical staff moved from the city.

“In Helmand, #Afghanistan, we’re still running Boost hospital... as fighting nears,” the international medical charity tweeted on Wednesday.

“We’ve shared coordinates of our 300 bed hospital to approaching warring parties in Helmand.”

The Taliban controls or contests 10 of the 14 districts in Helmand, the deadliest province for British and US forces in Afghanistan over the past decade.

Nato officially ended its combat mission in December 2014, but US forces were granted greater powers in June to strike at the insurgents as president Barack Obama vowed a more aggressive campaign.

Washington has deployed several hundred troops in Helmand in recent months.

Northern Kunduz was the first city to fall to the insurgents last September, in a blow to Afghan forces which have struggled to rein in the Taliban since the Nato combat mission ended.

The fighting in Helmand came as Afghan troops were stretched on several fronts – including eastern Nangarhar province, where ISIL claimed it was making inroads.

* Agence France-Presse