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| Afghanistan |
| Communication Services Down in Parts of Helmand |
| 2015-11-21 |
| Enemy action Officials in southern Helmand province said on Friday that the Taliban has "deliberately" sabotaged a number of telecom towers in parts of the province, resulting in limited communication for residents. "People are not able to communicate with each other," a Helmand resident complained. "Mobile phone services aren't working properly and we can not communicate with our friends and relatives." Journalists and media outlets have also been affected by the failure in communication services. "This has created huge obstacles for journalists and they are not able to get information on time," a local journalist said. "This has also affected the economy." Provincial council members also confirmed the problem and asked the telecom companies to reactivate their services as soon as possible. They however accused some of the companies of taking orders from some local Taliban insurgents. "I call on the telecommunication companies to reactivate their services, because their stations are in government-controlled areas but they take orders from Taliban," a member of Helmand provincial council Bismillah Rouhani claimed. They warned they would take decisions themselves if the government failed to bring officials of the telecommunication companies to justice. The volatile southern province of Helmand has long experienced fighting over the past years and violence has had a major impact on the local economy, rule of law and governance. |
| Posted by:badanov |