Taliban victory in Afghan north

Alarm as militants make advances on provincial capital

KUNDUZ // Taliban insurgents advancing on the capital of the northern Afghan province of Kunduz have captured a key adjoining area.

“Chardarah district has fallen to Taliban after hours of fierce fighting,” the district chief, Mohammad Yousuf Ayubi, said. “Twelve Afghan forces have lost their lives and 17 have been wounded.”

As insurgents escalate their offensive in the country’s north, beyond the traditional Taliban hotbeds in the south and east, the capture on Saturday of the Chardarah district has reignited concerns for the safety of the provincial capital.

Its fall would be a major setback for the Afghan government, and the militants, with their weekend gains, are now three kilometres from Kunduz city .

“We are going to start a military operation to retake the district,” said, deputy Afghan army chief general Murad Ali Murad.

It is the civilians who are bearing the brunt of the large-scale insurgent offensive in Kunduz, which has become the keystone of the Taliban’s summer fighting season, one that is expected to be the bloodiest in a decade. The province, on the border with Tajikistan, is facing a humanitarian crisis, with thousands of families trapped.

Fierce battles between insurgents and government forces in Chardarah sent terrified residents fleeing towards Kunduz city, carrying babies, livestock and household possessions.

“The Taliban attacked our village and both sides sprayed bullets in all directions,” said Bibi Gul, 60, who was clutching an infant.

“The Taliban are fighting during the fasting month of Ramadan. They are not Muslims,” she said.

The militants recently re- buffed requests from senior Afghan clerics to halt attacks during Ramadan.

The streets of Kunduz city were deserted yesterday, with shops closed and government buildings deserted, residents said, as fears of a Taliban takeover grew.

This year’s Taliban offensive marks the first fighting season in which Afghan forces are battling the insurgents without the full support of US- led foreign combat troops.

Nato’s combat mission formally ended in December but a small follow-up foreign force has stayed on in order to train and support local security personnel.