Some residents from the northern province of Takhar on Thursday staged a protest in Kabul to give get attention for what they described as an unprecedented wave of insecurity in the placid provincial capital Taluqan.
The protestors, who were carrying placards, warned that the city is on the verge of collapsing to Taliban
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control if the central government does not take action in time to thwart the bully boy threat.
They said that fierce battles are going on in the suburbs of the city, warning that if reinforcements weren’t dispatched to the area, there would be a human tragedy in the city.
"The Afghan central government sent a delegation to Takhar three days ago, but no breakthrough has been achieved out of this trip, they only take pictures and post them on Facebook. If they do not take action, our province will face a similar human tragedy that we witnessed in Kunduz," said Mehrullah Amiri, a civil society activist from Takhar.
"The main objective of our protest is to raise our voice in defense of our defenseless people. Fighting has been ongoing for several days in the suburbs of the city, and our security forces are under the siege," said Azizurrahman, a civil society activist in Takhar.
This comes a few days after the Taliban launched coordinated attacks on Takhar’s Baharak and Khawja Ghar districts from Kunduz province, and then infiltrated some areas near Taluqan city, the capital of Takhar.
On Thursday, provincial governor Abdul Haq Shafaq said that extra troops have been sent to Takhar to deal with the situation.
He said that the Taliban will never succeed in taking control of the city.
"There were reports that enemy forces had entered Taluqan city and that the city is on the edge of collapse; I strongly deny this, the fall of the city is impossible," said Shafaq.
Afghan Interior Ministry officials also said that the Afghan cops have repulsed the Taliban’s attack on Taluqan.
"There are no threats against Taluqan city. Joint operations of the Afghan Security and Defense Forces are on track, the operations will continue until all threats are tackled," said Nusrat Rahmi, a front man for the Afghan Ministry of Interior (MoI)
According to the residents, the Taliban have also attacked Afghan forces in Baharak, Khawja Ghar and Chah Ab districts.
Clearing Operations In Takhar Center, Taluqan
[ToloNews] Several days of fighting have resulted in over 30 killed, 40 wounded.
Afghan Army commandos, in coordination with other Afghan security forces in Takhar province, on Tuesday conducted a clearing operation in Taluqan, the provincial capital, the Ministry of Defense reported.
According to the statement, Taliban attacks in several parts of the city have caused heavy casualties.
A Takhar police spokesman, Khalil Aser, said that currently the defense and interior deputy ministers, and the provincial security chief, are in Taluqan to coordinate forces in the province.
Reports indicate that more than 30 have been killed and more than 40 wounded in the fighting, and that dozens of families have been displaced from Taluqan, Khowja Ghar and Baharak districts.
On Monday, Mohammad Jawad Hijri, spokesman for the Takhar governor, said that over the past few days the Taliban attacked areas close to Taluqan, including Baharak district, in order to disrupt the election process and to take control of areas close to the capital.
Officials also said that the Taliban are from neighboring Kunduz and Baghlan provinces.
Hijri said that security forces now have control of the police headquarters, and that airstrikes have killed 36 Taliban. Also, ANDSF reinforcements have arrived to push back the Taliban.
Hijri did not provide specific numbers about military or civilian casualties.