Taliban insurgents launched an assault on Kunduz on Monday, triggering intense fighting and forcing residents to hide in their homes, one year after the militants briefly took control of the strategic Afghan city.
Government helicopters were targeting gunmen from the air in a bid to repel the attack, a day before President Ashraf Ghani is due to meet world powers at a major donors conference in Brussels.
“People of Kunduz are panicked and trying to flee but they are caught in the middle of fighting,” said Ghulam Rabbani, Kunduz provincial council member.
“Please help us to get rid of this chaos and crises, or our people will be killed,” he said, warning that the province was on the verge of collapse.
Kunduz resident Abdullah, 28, said he was unable to move.
“We are very hungry and we do not have access to food at the moment. The city is deserted, the shops are closed… The whole city is surrounded by the Taliban.
“Since early morning we’ve been trapped inside our houses.”
The insurgents, who are known to exaggerate their claims, said they had killed multiple soldiers and were making “rapid” progress.
Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the attack had been launched from four directions, and that the insurgents had also captured four police checkpoints and were spreading throughout the city’s neighbourhoods.
“We are making rapid advances; a number of enemy forces were killed and wounded, and the rest are on the verge of fleeing and are flustered,” he said.
