Over 40 civilians killed in besieged Afghan city: UN

KANDAHAR: At least 40 civilians have been killed and more than 100 wounded in the last 24 hours of fighting between Afghan government forces and the Taliban in a besieged southern city, the United Nations said Tuesday.

In a tweet, the UN Assistance Mission for Afghanistan expressed "deepening concern" at the plight of civilians in Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand province, urging an "immediate end to fighting in urban areas".

Officials said insurgents had seized more than a dozen local radio and TV stations in Lashkar Gah -- capital of Helmand province and the scene of days of fierce fighting -- leaving only one pro-Taliban channel broadcasting Islamic programming. In Herat, another city under siege, hundreds of residents chanted "Allahu akbar" (God is greatest) from their rooftops after government forces repulsed the latest Taliban assault.

The hardline Islamist group has seized control of much of rural Afghanistan since foreign forces began the last stage of their withdrawal in early May, but are meeting resistance as they try to take provincial capitals. That urban fighting, however, is taking its toll on civilians.

"Taliban ground offensive & ANA air strikes causing most harm," UNAMA said earlier Tuesday, referring to the Afghan national army. “Deep concerns about indiscriminate shooting & damage to/occupation of health facilities & civilian homes.”

“Fighting was intense this morning,” said Sefatullah, director of Sukon radio in the city. “The US B52 and Afghan air force both pounded the Taliban positions,” he said, adding that fighting was ongoing near the city's prison and a building housing the headquarters of police and intelligence agencies.

Washington and London lashed out at the Taliban, accusing them of committing atrocities that may amount to “war crimes” in the town of Spin Boldak, which the insurgents captured last month along the border with Pakistan.

Afghanistan´s Independent Human Rights Commission earlier said the insurgents had indulged in revenge killings there, leaving at least 40 people dead.

“The Taliban chased and identified past and present government officials and killed these people who had no combat role in the conflict,” the group said. Top US diplomat Antony Blinken also slammed the militant leaders. An Afghanistan without a democratic, inclusive government would be a “pariah state,” he said, adding that the international recognition the group wants will not be possible if “seeks to take the country by force and commits the kind of atrocities that have been reported.”