Afghan Protesters Urge Action to Release Soldiers Besieged by Taliban
KABUL (Tasnim) – Afghan demonstrators in the northern province of Baghlan have blocked a highway leading to capital Kabul in protest at the central government’s inaction on the fate of 200 Afghan soldiers who have been besieged by the Taliban in the eastern province of Paktia.
Residents of Khinjan in Baghlan Province have shut down a highway linking Kabul to several northern provinces since Friday, expressing outrage at the central government for its muted response to the situation of the troops besieged by the Taliban militants in the Janikhel District, Paktia.
On Saturday, demonstrators put containers on the road and made fires, warning that protests will escalate if the army fails to do something to help the soldiers.
The Afghan soldiers are reported to have been under siege in Janikhel for ten days.
Protesters also claim that 20 troopers have been killed and 30 others wounded in the beleaguered city, according to Tolo News.
Afghan government forces have launched operations against the Taliban in 18 provinces of Afghanistan as fighting has intensified since the start of the militants' spring offensive in April.
Thousands of civilians in the province of Helmand have also fled their homes in the past weeks as fierce fighting raged between Afghan forces and Taliban fighters, sparking a humanitarian crisis.
The Taliban briefly captured northern Kunduz city in September last year, the first city to fall to the militants in their biggest victory in 14 years of war.
The Taliban also effectively control or contest 10 of the 14 districts in Helmand, the deadliest province for British and US forces in Afghanistan over the past decade.