Field reports indicated that the Taliban movement is encircling the city of Kunduz in northern Afghanistan and is making significant field gains, while thousands of residents have been displaced from their homes amid intensifying fighting between the movement’s militants and government forces.

Fighting has intensified across Kunduz province for days, and the Taliban have effectively captured the areas around the city.

Last Tuesday, the movement captured Sher Khan Bandar, Afghanistan’s main border crossing with Tajikistan, in one of the movement’s most significant gains over the past few months.

The Taliban had twice taken control of Kunduz, which is the most important city in northern Afghanistan.

There are reports of 160,000 families fleeing the fighting across Afghanistan.

Ghulam Saki Rasouli, the official in charge of refugee affairs in Kunduz, said that “about 5,000 families were displaced due to the battles,” and up to 2,000 of those families fled to Kabul and other provinces, according to the official.

Many people have taken refuge in a school in the city, and the authorities have provided them with food and other relief items, according to Ghulam Rabbani Rabbani, a member of the Kunduz local council.

“We haven’t received any help yet,” said displaced Akhtar Muhammad, who has taken refuge in the school. Today, a team came to check on some families, but they left minutes later.”

Another 8,000 families were displaced from across Kunduz province following a month of intermittent clashes between rebels and government forces, according to Rasouli, who said authorities were unable to provide relief items to all the displaced across the province.

Hassan Allah Fazli, Director of Public Health in Kunduz City, confirmed that since the fighting broke out more than a week ago, 29 civilians have been killed and 225 others wounded.

Huge gains

Since early May, the Taliban have launched numerous attacks on government targets across the rugged rural area, and said they had captured nearly 90 of the country’s 400 provinces.

The government is skeptical of many of the movement’s announcements of gains, and it is difficult to confirm reports from independent sources.

The pace of fighting escalated after the US Army began withdrawing its remaining 2,500 soldiers from the country, before the September 11 deadline announced by President Joe Biden to turn the page on America’s longest war.

Earlier, German news agency DPA reported that Taliban militants have taken control of at least 10 districts in 7 different provinces across Afghanistan.

The agency stated that the movement’s militants continue to achieve field gains at a time when foreign forces are withdrawing from the country.