100 Taliban Killed- Hundreds Displaced

US and Afghan forces report that more than 100 Taliban members have been killed in the Southern province of Helmand. Three days of fierce fighting began after patrols came under attack from Taliban forces. The exact number of casualties is still not known.


However the attack has meant that more people have had to flee their homes in search of refuge in other parts of the country. The growing number of refugees in Kabul further highlights the deepening conflict between Taliban and foreign forces. Many people originally fled their homes in Helmand in search of temporary shelter in the Southern provincial capitals of Kandahar and Lashkar Gar, but now more are moving further into Kabul because of incresed instability and security dangers in the South.


The fighting has made it impossible for civilians to remain in their villages, which are used by Taliban as covers for attacking NATO and US forces. This is followed then by further airstrikes by allied forces on the villages where civilians are living. People are accused of co-operating with Taliban by the police, government and foreign forces and then further interegated by Taliban who claim that they are spies. As one man put it "We are under the feet of two powers."


Stopping insurgent forces is essential but the deaths of civilians and the uprooting of Afghan peoples lives must not be part of the process.