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Helmand Residents Slam Govt's Poor War Strategy
As Taliban militants step up efforts against the hard-pressed Afghan security forces battling the group in the volatile regions of southern Helmand, residents in the embattled province on Friday blasted government for not taking an offensive approach to curb the advance of the Taliban.Residents claim poor war strategy has enabled the Taliban to infiltrate peaceful areas. They accused President Ashraf Ghani and his CEO Abdullah Abdullah of failing to deliver on campaign promises they made to the residents of Helmand during elections. They said that government leaders pledged to outline more robust and coherent security strategies for Helmand and other volatile regions so as to fix the deteriorating security climate. As battles between the security forces and Taliban deepens, soldiers battling the Taliban on warfronts have told TOLOnews that the Taliban intends to carry out more offensives unless military campaigns and operations are doubled against the militants. "Leaders of the national unity government have done nothing so far, neither Abdullah nor Ghani did anything beneficial for us," a resident of Helmand, Sardar, said. "The government is very weak. Taliban continues to destroy our country on a daily basis, they (Govt) must act," another resident, Sediqaullah, said. While life in Lashkargah, the provincial capital, appears secure, many fear the security situation could deteriorate. "Regarding war, I can say that if you go out of the city, there is a security threat," a resident of Lashkargah city Talib Mohammad said. Meanwhile, on the frontline, the security forces are still committed to defending their country against threats. Threats have increased in Nawa and Garmsir districts as Taliban push to disrupt the security in the entire province. "No one must commit negligence, we are here and deployed here, operations must be launched and more aid should be dispatched," an Afghan National Army officer said. "This area is entirely controlled by the Taliban," a local resident, Janat Gul, said. Posted by: badanov 2016-05-07 |
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