MAZAR-I-SHARIF (Pajhwok): Residents of northern Balkh province ask government and Taliban forces to pay serious attention to the safety of civilian lives and properties during their operations.
The residents say civilians suffered financially and lost loved ones to recent clashes between security forces and Taliban insurgents in various parts of the province.
A number of lawmakers from Balkh province also confirmed receiving complaints about civilian casualties from some districts in the province.
Government sources in Balkh say the Taliban captured nine of the total 14 districts in the province in the past three weeks.
Recent fighting, bomb blasts and airstrikes caused life and financial losses to civilians in some areas, according to local residents.
Mohammad Asif, a resident of Shulgar district, told Pajhwok Afghan News that two members of his family who were injured in a clash a week ago were being treated in hospital in Mazar-i-Sharif.
Sitting next to his injured nephew in the hospital, he said a mortar shell hit their house and injured his nephew and another relative.
Asif said dozens of other families like him had been affected by the recent fighting in Balkh. “Stay in this hospital for a day, you will see how many injured people are brought from districts every day.”
He called on the Taliban and government forces to pay more attention to the safety of civilians in the ongoing conflict.
Rahimullah, another resident, moved from Balkh district to Nawabad area of Mazar-i-Sharif city after the district fell to the Taliban about 10 days ago following fighting.
The displaced resident said they left their area with families to save themselves and were now living in rented houses in the city.
He said his house was close to the bazaar in Balkh district, where there was a risk of fighting and airstrikes at any moment.
He added that the recent fighting in Balkh forced hundreds of families to move to Mazar-i-Sharif, where they faced many economic problems.
The Balkh resident called on the warring parties to stop harassing people and resolve the issue through peace talks. According to him, people are tired of war and are counting down the minutes to peace in the country.
Gul Rehman Hamdard, a member of the Wolesi Jirga, also confirmed that civilians suffered casualties in the recent fighting in Balkh.
Hamdard said he visited the hospital to meet a family who suffered casualties in an airstrike in Balkh district. The airstrike killed a woman and a child and injured two people, including the head of the family.
He said it was just one incident and there were many families who suffered casualties as a result of the ongoing conflict.
Hamdard added that the government had greatest responsibility to ensure the safety of civilians and property during operations.
The Balkh governor's office said it had no information about civilian casualties in the recent fighting.
Balkh Governor Mohammad Farhad Azimi told Pajhwok Afghan News they had no reports of civilian casualties due to the recent fighting in Balkh.
“You know there is no writ of the government in insecure districts and we have not yet received any reports from any international organization or charity about civilian casualties." He said government forces were trying to avoid harming civilians during their operations.
Thousands of families have been displaced due to the recent fighting in Balkh and other provinces of the country and the uprooted families are facing many problems.
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