150 civilians injured or killed in Ghazni- UN officer

150 civilians injured or killed in Ghazni- UN officer

Tuesday, August 14, 2018 10:38 am


United Nations headquarters

Between 110 and 150 civilians have been reported injured or killed, amid Taliban assault on the capital of Afghanistan South-eastern Ghazni province.

The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said this on Tuesday in Kabul.

OCHA said that approximately, 20 patients in critical condition had been transported to Kabul, adding that the number of casualties needed to be verified.

Taliban forces launched a coordinated assault of the city of Ghazni, the capital of the province with the same name on Friday and quickly overran and took control of most parts of the city.

Afghan Defence Minister Tariq Bahrami had said on Monday that at least, 100 members of the Afghan security forces, 30 civilians and around 200 Taliban fighters had been killed in the fighting since on Friday.

Provincial council member Nasir Faqiri told dpa that at least, 80 members of the Afghan security force were killed during the city siege.

Faqiri wrote on Facebook on Tuesday that sporadic fighting was ongoing on the outskirts of the city.

He said that Taliban forces had slowly retreated from inside the city to areas under their control on the outskirts.

Faqiri said that airstrikes on Taliban positions continued, but not as heavy as they were on Monday night.

The city of Ghazni has been the scene of intense fighting and a total communication blackout since the Taliban assault.

According to the OCHA report, large numbers of civilians have fled to nearby Wardak province.

Around 70 people have reportedly arrived in the city of Gardez, the capital of Paktya, as at Monday.

(Dpa/NAN)

 


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