Residents and officials say the Taliban continued their assault in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, taking nine out of ten districts of the Helmand province capital.
In a desperate attempt to defend the city of Lashkar Gah, Afghan government forces initiated airstrikes backed by the US.
In an audio message shared with journalists on Tuesday, the commander of the Afghan forces for Helmand, Gen Sami Sadat, encouraged civilians in Taliban-controlled neighborhoods to flee immediately, but he did not specify how they could do so given the continuous fighting. More airstrikes were planned, according to the statement.
Sadat said, "Please evacuate your families from your homes and their surroundings." “We are not going to let the Taliban live....” I know it's difficult, but we have to do it for your sake. Please evacuate as quickly as possible if you are displaced for a few days.”
Lashkar Gah is one of three provincial capitals under Taliban siege as the insurgents intensify their assault on government soldiers.
As US and Nato soldiers withdraw from war-torn Afghanistan, the loss of Lashkar Gah would be a dramatic turning point in the Taliban's onslaught over the previous months. In addition, it would be the Taliban's first provincial capital in years.
Residents of the city claim they are besieged, hunkered down inside their homes, and unable to leave for basic necessities due to the fighting. They said that Taliban fighters were openly fighting in the streets and that the Taliban controlled all but one Lashkar Gah district.
As the government held on to major government buildings, including the local police and army headquarters, elite commando teams were despatched from Kabul to assist Afghan forces.
The Taliban control nine Lashkar Gah districts, as well as the city's TV and radio stations, which have both gone off the air, according to Majid Akhund, vice chairman of the Helmand provincial council.
The Taliban have stormed over dozens of districts across the country in recent months, many of them in isolated and rural areas with few populations.
Afghan troops in those encounters sometimes surrendered or withdrew without putting up much of a fight, often lacking resupplies and reinforcements. The Taliban have also taken control of numerous profitable border crossings with Iran, Pakistan, and Tajikistan in recent weeks.
The Taliban have recently turned their weapons to provincial capitals as the evacuation of US and Nato forces nears 95 percent completion. By August 31, the last US and NATO soldiers are expected to leave Afghanistan.
The two other provincial capitals under siege are Kandahar province, which is also in the south, and Herat province, which is in the west.
Afghan forces looked to be able to push the Taliban back on Tuesday in Herat, the capital of the same-named province, with the insurgents on the outskirts of the city. The civilian airport in Herat has also reopened.
The UN mission called for a stop to the violence in densely populated metropolitan areas as soon as possible.
