Afghan President Ghani arrives in Balkh amid escalating violence in northern province

Kabul [Afghanistan], August 11 (ANI): Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday arrived in Mazar-e-Sharif city in the northern Balkh province, amid escalating violence in the Northern Province.

Ghani’s security and political affairs adviser Mohammad Mohaqiq also accompanied him on the trip, TOLO News reported. This visit comes as the Taliban has captured several provincial capitals in Afghanistan. Amid the ongoing fight between Afghan government forces and Taliban, hundreds of thousands of civilians are at risk as fighting intensifies in and around Kunduz, Lashkar Gah, Kandahar, and other Afghan cities.

The Afghan news agency reported that a security meeting will be held in Marzar-e-Sharif with the presence of former Balkh governor and security officials in the province. “The meeting will focus on coordination between the defense and security forces and the mobilization of the public uprising forces and launching clearance operations in cities that have fallen to the Taliban,” TOLO reported citing a source.

On Tuesday, Balkh governor Mohammad Farhad Azimi said that the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces (ANDSF) pushed back a Taliban offensive on Mazar-e-Sharif city and retook Nahr-e-Shahi district. “The Taliban have focused their attention on Balkh province to take control,” said Azimi.

UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday said that the Afghan government forces and the Taliban must stop fighting “to prevent bloodshed.”If they fail to return to the negotiating table and reach an agreement, the situation for the Afghan people will become “even worse,” said Bachelet, as quoted by Sputnik. (ANI)