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Nad Ali Siege Ends But Troops Still Trapped
The siege in Sayed Abad village in Helmand's Nad Ali district ended after hours of fighting between Afghan security forces and Taliban rebels, but some residents said dozens of troops are still under siege.A local police commander in Sayed Abad village, Ghulam Sakhi, said the area has fallen to the Taliban and that a number of soldiers were killed in the conflict. "We were not provided with further forces to move forward. We were helped by the army, police, and civil order forces and were taken out of the siege," Sakhi added. A local police force member, Sayed Mustafa, said they were faced with the lack of equipment and reinforcements therefore they left the area. "It was in the morning when they [rebels] started attacking us. Two soldiers were killed and one other was wounded," Mustafa said. Meanwhile, families of soldiers said that dozens of Civil Order Forces have been under Taliban siege for the past four days and that they have not received aid so far. The soldiers have said in phone calls with their families that their ammunition will soon run out if they are not given more. Father of one of the soldiers said: "Government must save them. It should use all its facilities for this." "My cousin called me and said they have no weapons, ammunition or food and that they are under siege and the situation is bad. He said no one has helped them so far. He said they will be killed by Taliban if they are not helped," said a relative of one of the trapped soldiers in Helmand's Nad Ali. A number of MPs from Helmand meanwhile said insurgents have attacked seven districts of the province and that parts of the province collapsed to militants but then again come under government's control. "Collapse of Helmand means the collapse of Afghanistan. It is not like Kunduz that will be recaptured within a few days. Government will not be able to retake control of the province if it falls to insurgents," said Mohammad Hashim Alokozay, an MP from Helmand. Meanwhile, military commentator Atiqullah Amarkhail said a number of foreign hands are trying to stoke the Helmand war for their own benefit. "Only one month is needed to clear Helmand of militants – using the available power of Afghan and foreign troops. But if Helmand is cleared, then who will own the overfilled resources in Helmand? Who will own the three-season poppy corps, who will own the precious and semi-precious stones in Helmand? There are a number of people outside and inside government that want to keep the Helmand war fueled," Amarkhail said. "Government is aware about the threats, but why is it not sending the assistance on time and why doesn't it give ammunition in areas with serious threats?," said MP Fawzia Kofi. She added: "The Civil Order Police Force members in Nad Ali are repeatedly calling that they are trapped. As well as there is a similar scenario in Badakhshan's Raghistan district where the troops have received no assistance and no air support." Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said that efforts are under way to remove the current challenges and threats. "We are trying to changing the situation and to overcome the threats in Nad Ali district," Sediqqi added. Critics said they believe that the situation will worsen if government does not change its war strategy. Video report at the link Posted by: badanov 2016-08-03 |
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