Fighting rages in Afghanistan as US, UK accuse Taliban of massacring civilians

GBNews24 Desk//

Afghan forces battled to stop a first major city from falling to the Taliban Monday as the United States and Britain accused the insurgents of “massacring civilians” in a town they recently captured near the Pakistan border.

Taliban fighters assaulted at least three provincial capitals overnight — Lashkar Gah, Kandahar and Herat — after a weekend of heavy fighting that saw thousands of civilians flee the advancing militants.

Fighting raged in Helmand’s provincial capital Lashkar Gah, where the Taliban launched coordinated attacks on the city centre and its prison — just hours after the government announced the deployment of hundreds of commandos to the area.

The war has intensified since early May, with the insurgents capitalising on the final stages of the withdrawal of US-led foreign forces after almost 20 years.

As the country’s security forces struggled to keep the Taliban at bay, President Ashraf Ghani blamed Washington for the deteriorating security.

“The reason for our current situation is that the decision was taken abruptly,” Ghani told parliament, referring to the withdrawal of foreign forces.

Ghani said he had warned Washington that the withdrawal would have “consequences”.

His comments came as the United States said it will take in thousands more Afghan refugees as violence surged across the country.

“In light of increased levels of Taliban violence, the US government is working to provide certain Afghans, including those who worked with the United States, the opportunity for refugee resettlement,” the State Department said in a statement.

Washington has already started evacuating thousands of interpreters and their families who worked with the military and embassy over the past two decades.