Heavy fighting continued Wednesday in northern Afghanistan as the country’s security forces tried to recapture the city of Kunduz from Taliban fighters who seized it earlier this week in a major victory for the militant group.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said the clashes in Kunduz have killed or injured more than 100 civilians and forced 6,000 people to flee the city.

“The reports of extrajudicial executions, including of healthcare workers, abductions, denial of medical care and restrictions on movement out of the city are particularly disturbing,” UNAMA chief Nicholas Haysom said.

The Afghan army has been trying to send more troops from the south up into Kunduz, but Taliban roadblocks and landmines have blocked them from advancing in Baghlan province. 

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Wednesday there were intense clashes going on in northern Baghlan.

US airstrikes

U.S. warplanes carried out a pair of airstrikes on Tuesday in support of the Afghan troops.  A spokesman for the U.S.-led NATO alliance said the first strike was done to “eliminate a threat to coalition and Afghan forces.”

A second strike overnight hit the area around the Kunduz City Airport, which was the site of heavy clashes late Tuesday after Taliban fighters staged a major attack on the complex.  Afghanistan’s intelligence agency said the airstrike killed the Taliban’s shadow governor for Kunduz province along with 15 other people.  There was no official confirmation.

President Ashraf Ghani told reporters Tuesday in Kabul that national forces have made quick advances and retook control of several buildings. He said that airstrikes have inflicted heavy casualties on the opposition, insisting Taliban insurgents are using residents in Kunduz as “human shields.”

Ghani called for calm and appealed to the nation to trust Afghan security forces, saying they are determined to retake Kunduz very soon and restore peace to the region.

Taliban spokesman Mujahid rejected as government propaganda that Taliban fighters have indulged in looting banks, shops, government and non-government offices.

Multi-pronged offensive

Taliban insurgents overran the Afghan city of Kunduz on Monday in a surprise multi-pronged offensive. This was the first time the insurgent group captured a major city since being ousted from power in 2001.

The Pentagon said the situation in Kunduz remained “fluid,” but expressed confidence in Afghan security forces Tuesday. “We’ve seen them respond in recent weeks and months to the challenges they’ve faced. And they’re doing the same thing in Kunduz right now,” said spokesman Peter Cook. He called the Taliban advance Monday “clearly a setback” for Afghan security forces.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in a statement Tuesday said that its hospital in Kunduz has treated around 50 children.

It said that the majority of patients it has treated so far “had sustained gunshot wounds and surgeons have been treating severe abdominal, limb and head injuries.”

Defense Minister Masoom Stanekzai, while speaking in Kabul, confirmed the deaths of 17 security forces. He urged the Taliban to cease the bloodshed and try to resolve differences through peaceful means.

Ghani under fire

The battlefield setback came as President Ghani’s government completed its first year in power. The Afghan leader has already been under fire for failing to improve governance and security around the country, and counter widespread corruption in state institutions.

Angry lawmakers in Afghanistan’s lower house of parliament called Wednesday for an investigation and accuse the government of failing to prevent the attack on Kunduz despite knowing the Taliban was nearby.

Afghan spy agency chief Rahmatullah Nabil apologized to the chamber and the nation for what has taken place in Kunduz.  He was summoned to appear along with Interior Minister Noorulhaq Olomi to explain the fall of the city.

Nabil told reporters Tuesday that there were 600 inmates in the detention center, including more than 100 “low-level” Taliban fighters.

The United Nations and international rights groups have called on all sides to safeguard civilians.

The United Nations and international rights groups have called on all sides to safeguard civilians.

The Taliban had come close to capturing Kunduz when it launched a spring offensive in April but Afghan security forces repelled the assault.  President Ghani and other top officials had promised at the time they would not allow the insurgents to come closer again.

VOA’s Chris Hannas contributed to this report.
…