Afghans Flee as Taliban Makes Deeper Inroads Amid U.S. Exit
- Escalating violence risks triggering broader refugee crisis
- 1,000 Afghan soldiers escape to Tajikistan after attacks
An displaced family flees towards the city in Panjwai district of Kandahar province on July 4.
Photographer: Javed Tanveer/AFP/Getty Images
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Tens of thousands of Afghan families are fleeing to escape the Taliban’s rapid advance into the country’s northern region, part of a larger refugee crisis that is brewing as the U.S speeds up its troop withdrawal after two decades of war.
The militants have burned down farmland and forced citizens to leave their towns and villages, Mohammad Amiri, a deputy spokesman for President Ashraf Ghani, said by phone on Monday. “The Taliban prefers violence over talks and has accelerated its violence nationwide in order to achieve its own political agenda,” Amiri said.