Helmand Residents Welcome Operation As Taliban Flee

MARJAH, Helmand Province, Afghanistan – People displaced from the Taliban-controlled town of Marjah, Nad Ali in Helmand province, welcomed a massive military operation launched February 13 aimed at flushing out the insurgents to pave the way for reconstruction and restoration of government authority.

The operation was launched early February 13 after weeks of extensive publicity that included press conferences and dropping leaflets in the area to avoid civilian casualties and give insurgents a chance to lay down their arms.

Around 6,000 troops — a majority of them Afghan soldiers — attacked the town of Marjah, which had been under control of extremists for nearly three years.

The operation, code named “Operation Moshtarak” — which means “together” in Dari — began early Saturday, and is reportedly the largest since the war against the Taliban began.

The operation includes large numbers of Afghan soldiers and police, as well as international forces.

Helmand Governor Gulab Mangal told reporters a total of 15,000 Afghan and international troops are taking part in the operation in the Marjah and Nad Ali districts.

Afghan Defence Minister, Rahim Wardag, said the Afghan National Army (ANA) and coalition forces are facing little resistance from the Taliban militants. He told a Kabul press conference late Saturday the Taliban are trying to use local residents as human shields, but the ANA and coalition forces are proceeding carefully to avoid civilian casualties.

Residents of Marjah say they welcome the operation and describe their conditions under the Taliban as ‘horrible’.

“For nearly three years, Marjah was under the Taliban. There were no roads, no clinic, no school, no job, nothing at all. We lived under horrible conditions. We hoped the government would come and rescue us. And now we hope the government will not leave us alone after the operation is completed”, Hekmatullah, a displaced resident of Marjah, told Central Asia Online by telephone.

He added that the villagers are happy that the government is taking action as the town has been ruined by insurgent activities.

“We asked for the operation. We want to cooperate with our government, the army, the police. We need roads, clinics, schools, jobs, not war”, Hekmatullah added.

Contrary to previous military operations, Afghan and international forces are, this time, working on a new plan: cleanse the area of the insurgents, deploy the forces on a permanent basis and begin reconstruction programs.

Helmand Governor Mangal said earlier in the week that government representatives would quickly move into the areas once they are secured and begin re-establishing the government and reconstruction.

Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, first termed the operation as just a “propaganda war”, but later claimed that they were gathering fighters to defend their stronghold. However, Afghan officials said there has been little resistance so far.

“There is no significant resistance so far”, Dawod Ahmadi, spokesman to the Governor of Helmand, told Central Asia Online. “The only problem our forces are facing is hundreds of mines that the insurgents have implanted on roads and everywhere in the town. We are advancing but at a slow pace”.

Another resident of Marjah, who was also displaced and is now living in Lashkargah, the provincial centre, confirmed this and told Central Asia Online, “The Taliban were hiding mines everywhere in the town when we were fleeing.” The man did not want to be identified for fear of retaliation. “We were helpless and hopeless until the government launched the operation. We hope the offensive will be completed soon so we return our homes and see the town rebuilt”.

The man put the number of the displaced families at 500, but Ahmadi told Central Asia Online that at least 550 families were displaced. “We are helping the displaced people; things of basic needs are being distributed among them,” he added. The town has a population of 80,000 people.

Ahmadi also claimed that many high level commanders and insurgents had already fled the area. Other Afghan officials reported that a shadow governor of the district Nad Ali was captured in neighbouring Kandahar province while fleeing to Quetta, Pakistan, where the Taliban leadership is believed to be hiding.

In the early hours of the operation five insurgents were killed and eight captured alive, Ahmadi, said. He said this operation was going slowly so as to protect civilians and to protect military forces from roadside bombs.

The operation seems to be a crucial part of the new multi-faceted strategy to first change the Taliban momentum and then offer them reconciliation. NATO officials say it will continue for several weeks, probably until the upcoming peace jirga that, according to Waheed Omar, spokesman to President Karzai, will be held in Kabul in April.