Kunduz fighting leaves thousands displace

KUNDUZ: About 5,000 Afghan families have fled their homes in Kunduz after days of fighting between the Taliban and government forces, officials said Saturday, with the insurgents continuing to surround the key northern city.

The Taliban briefly seized the city twice in recent years but have now captured the surrounding districts and a nearby border crossing with Tajikistan.

"About 5,000 families have been displaced by the fighting," Ghulam Sakhi Rasouli, director of the Kunduz Refugees and Repatriation Department, said.