Kunduz Residents Fear City Onslaught

Heavy fighting around Kunduz city has sparked concern among local residents who have called on government to step up their operations so as to prevent the Taliban from gaining ground.
Residents fear insurgents will encroach on the city and seize control of it as happened late last year.
Members of the provincial council on Sunday also advocated for a wider military campaign to eliminate the insurgents.
They said that the security institutions must step up efforts to target Taliban hideouts in the province's volatile regions in order to save the province from collapsing to the group.
"Students do not attend university classes, students fled the city after rumors surfaced over a possible war," one resident said.
"Currently battles are going on around the city belts, however the situation is under control inside the city," another Kunduz resident said.
In reference to concerns of Kunduz residents, the Afghan security institutions have pledged to take action against the Taliban in the area, assuring residents of security.
According to reports, hundreds of residents so far have fled their homes in the city to escape a possible war.
TOLOnews' correspondent Sayed Tariq Majidi, reporting from Kunduz, said he saw military helicopters bombarding Taliban bases in the area.
"Massive pressure was mounted on the enemy over the past two or three days. Our personnel are defending the city with strong commitment," said Habibullah Qabchaq, deputy commander of 808 Spinzer army battalion in Kunduz.
"Taliban are still deployed around the city from where they waged a war before," a resident of Kunduz city said.
"Ten foreign insurgents were killed and two corpses are still lying on the ground," said Masoom Hashemi, head of the security department of Kunduz police headquarters.
Meanwhile, Afghan forces in Imam Saheb district told TOLOnews reporter that Taliban are only one kilometer away from them.
"The enemy is now deployed near the school," an Afghan National Army Officer told TOLOnews.
"They use artilleries and heavy weapons," another officer said.
This comes after Kunduz city dramatically collapsed to the Taliban last year when the group's fighters carried out a coordinated attack on the city from several fronts, sparking major criticism over the management of the war.