The Taliban pressed ahead with their advances in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, capturing nine out of 10 districts of the Helmand capital, residents and officials said.
Afghan government forces launched airstrikes, backed by the US, during a desperate effort to defend the town of Lashkar Gah.
The Afghan force’s commander for Helmand, Gen Sami Sadat, in an audio message shared with journalists on Tuesday urged residents in neighborhoods captured by the Taliban to evacuate immediately, though he didn’t clarify how they might do this amid the continued clashes. The message was a sign more air strikes were planned.
“Please evacuate your families from your homes and their surroundings,” Sadat said. “We won’t leave the Taliban alive. … I do know it’s hard … we roll in the hay for your future. Forgive us if you get displaced for a couple of days, please evacuate as soon as possible.”
Lashkar Gah is one of three provincial capitals under siege by the Taliban as they stepped up their onslaught against government forces.
The fall of Lashkar Gah would be a serious turning point within the offensive the Taliban have waged over the past months as US and Nato forces complete their pullout from the war-torn country. it might even be the primary capital captured by the Taliban in years.
Residents of the town said the fighting has them trapped, crouched inside their homes, and unable to exit for basic supplies. They said Taliban fighters were out openly within the streets, which about one Lashkar Gah district was under Taliban control.
Elite commando units were dispatched from Kabul to assist Afghan forces because the government persisted to key government buildings, including the local police and military headquarters.
Majid Akhund, deputy chairman of the Helmand provincial council, confirmed that the Taliban control nine Lashkar Gah districts and also the city’s TV and station , which had both gone off the air.
In recent months the Taliban swept through dozens of districts across the country, many in remote and rural, sparsely populated areas.
Afghan troops in those battles often surrendered or pulled out with barely a fight, frequently lacking re-supplies and reinforcements. Over the past weeks, the Taliban have also captured several lucrative border crossings with Iran, Pakistan, and Tajikistan.
Most recently, the Taliban have turned their guns on provincial capitals because the withdrawal of the US and Nato forces, is now quite 95 percent complete. the ultimate US and Nato soldiers are expected to be out of Afghanistan by Aug 31.
The two other provincial capitals under siege are within the neighboring province of Kandahar, also within the south, and in the western Herat province.
In Herat, the capital of the province by an equivalent name, Afghan forces appeared on Tuesday to be ready to push the Taliban back, with the insurgents on the sting of the town. Also, Herat city’s civilian airport re-opened.
The UN mission appealed for a fast end to the fighting in heavily populated urban areas.
