At least seven civilians have died in clashes between Taliban insurgents and Afghan and international forces in Kajaki District of Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan, according to the US military.
The US military has blamed Taliban insurgents for deliberately disregarding the need to protect civilians and repeatedly harming noncombatants.
Five civilians were killed in a rocket attack by Taliban insurgents on 25 February while the dead bodies of a woman and a child were found after a fierce firefight between insurgents and coalition forces on 23 February.
Zabiullah Mujahid, a purported Taliban spokesperson, rejected the charges and accused international forces of recklessly bombing and killing some 40 civilians in Kajaki.
Preliminary reports indicate that dozens, if not hundreds, of civilians have also been temporarily displaced as a result of the conflict.
“We do not have reliable figures due to access restrictions, but we know some people have left their homes,” Gulam Mohammad Ishaqzai, director of the Afghan Red Crescent Society in Helmand, told IRIN on 27 February.
Threat to blow up dam?
Afghan and international forces launched joint military operations in Kajaki District on 20 February in an effort to clear the area of Taliban who had a “supply line” there, said a press release issued by the US military on 25 February.
Meanwhile, Assadullah Wafa, the governor of Helmand Province, said Afghan and international troops were fighting the Taliban in Kajaki to protect an important hydroelectric power plant, which produces 33MW of electricity for Helmand and Kandahar provinces.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has told the people of Helmand that his government is planning to invest US$180 million to expand and renovate Kajaki’s hydroelectric plant, which was built by the USA in 1975 and provides electricity for about two million people.
The insurgents had not only impeded development work on the power plant, but had threatened to blow up the dam, provincial officials said.
Ongoing operations
On 25 February the US military reported that Kajaki District had been cleared of Taliban insurgents and handed over to the Afghan government.
However, Simon Mellor, a spokesman for British forces in Helmand, said military operations were still ongoing in the area and that many insurgents had either been killed or captured.
Helmand Province is a hotbed of insurgency-related violence; hundreds of people have lost their lives.
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This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
