By Chathushka Perera
Kabul, Afghanistan (CWBN)_ Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, said that the Taliban must show strong commitment to their promises to de-escalate the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan, which intensified earlier this month. Stoltenberg made these remarks during a press conference held in Brussels, yesterday (21-10-20).
NATO deployed troops from 26 different countries, including personnel from US, UK, Canada, in Afghanistan in 2003, under a United Nations mandate to lead its International Security Assistance Force, as per a request made by the Afghan Government. The coalition’s has three objectives, primarily to prevent the resurgence of terrorism in the region, strengthen government forces and institutions, and curb the trade of opium. NATO operations in Afghanistan are among its largest undertakings.
Nonetheless, when peace talks screeched to a halt earlier this month, the Taliban took the offensive in several conflicted regions of which Helmand was hit the hardest, and have orchestrated numerous bombings that have led to the deaths of both civilians and Afghan security personnel.
Moreover, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UN Refugee Agency) called for the immediate protection of nearly 40,000 civilians, including men, women and children, who were forcefully displaced by the fighting in the region. It is expected that the numbers would continue to rise in the coming days. The Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority has currently allocated roughly 260,000 USD for relief services and is also providing food supplies for 200 of nearly 5000 families.
Meanwhile, 47 Afghan Security Force members, including 20 Special Forces personnel and 17 police officers, were killed and four others were wounded, yesterday, in fighting that ensued in Baharak, Takhar Provice, when the Taliban advanced on a regional village. Although claims of high insurgent casualties were made, exact details were not provided to the media.
Additional sources have added that up to 60 Security Force members were deployed in the region, however, 12 have been reported as wounded whereas 48 remain missing.
