Displaced families back home as normalcy returns to Afghan Kunduz city

After almost two weeks of fierce fighting and evicting Taliban militants from Kunduz city, capital of Kunduz province 250 km north of Kabul, normalcy has returned to the war-ravaged city and the people who escaped the war for safer placed have begun returning home.

"After the fall of Kunduz to the Taliban, I migrated to Mazar-e-Sharif city but returned my home on Friday," Kunduz resident Abdul Rahim told Xinhua on Saturday.

Taliban militants in a bold attack captured Kunduz city on September 29.

Afghan forces backed by the US military launched counter-offensive and recaptured the city after 11 days of bloody fighting which had left hundreds of people mostly militants dead.

"My demand for the government is to chase Taliban rebels elsewhere in and around Kunduz to ensure lasting peace and security in the province," Rahim added.

Following Taliban retreat from Kunduz city, President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani visited Kunduz on Friday and ordered government forces to pursue the militants in Kunduz and northeastern provinces until lasting peace and stability return to the northern region of the country.

Provincial government resumed its routine duties on Saturday. Talking to media, acting governor of Kunduz province Hamdullah Daneshi said that all roads linking Kunduz to neighboring Baghlan and Takhar provinces have been reopened, traffic restored, shops opened and people have resumed their normal life.

"I returned my home today, I am happy of returning normalcy to the city," Nizamudin told Xinhua.

However, Nizamudin urged the government to continue the operation against Taliban militants till their physical elimination, otherwise, the armed insurgents would regroup and cause chaos in Kunduz region again.

Taliban militants, according to locals and officials, had massively abused human rights including extra-judicial killing of civilians and looting during their brief rule over Kunduz city, a claim spurned by the armed outfit as fabricated.

However, government forces, according to security officials, have been chasing militants in Chardara district of Kunduz province to smash their hideouts and clean the way for targeting the armed outfit in their bastion in neighboring Dasht-e-Archi district.
 Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
18/10/15