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| Afghanistan |
| Security Forces Speak Out About Fall Of Parts Of Sangin |
| 2015-12-31 |
| Security forces in Helmand province have said negligence on the part of senior security force members in Sangin resulted in the fall of parts of the district to the Taliban. Speaking to TOLOnews, security force members said those who failed to fight militants in the district need to be brought to justice. They also said it will not take long for them to eliminate the Taliban in Sangin once they get their orders to launch a large-scale operation. "The [security] personnel has a strong morale; this is the weakness of our commanders of military units [that has resulted in fall of parts of Sangin to Taliban]. Such people should be punished," said a commander of the Public Order Police in Sangin, Shinkai Qarabaghi. TOLOnews reporters Abdul Wali Arian and Abdullah Hamim, who are embedded with security forces in Sangin, report that the Taliban are hiding out in civilian houses, which is proving a challenge for security forces. Arian said however that reinforcement troops have arrived in the district and have joined security forces. However, bad weather, including rain, is having an impact on air support as air strike operations are not always possible. He said the reinforcement troops had to break through tough Taliban defense lines in their bid to reach the Sangin troops. "The convoy successfully made its way to our colleagues in Sangin and we had no casualties," said a Public Order Police member who was part of the reinforcement troop contingent. Arian said however, that the Taliban's tactic of hiding in houses is a problem as troops have come under attack through this. In addition, the Taliban also planted mines along the main route to Sangin. "Taliban started shelling from inside houses. They use houses as shields, but they failed. When we attacked them back, they entered people's houses. Hence, we stopped our attack [to save civilians lives]," a member of the Public Order Police said. Meanwhile, a number of Sangin residents from areas under Taliban control said people are being oppressed by the militant group. "They [Taliban] do not harass people a lot, but they ask for food and other things – forcibly," a resident of Sangin said. Video report at the link |
| Posted by:badanov |