Helmand May Fall to Taliban: Afghan Official
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Afghanistan's Helmand province could fall to the Taliban after months of heavy fighting, with 90 members of the security forces killed over the past two days, the deputy governor of the volatile southern province warned Sunday.
Mohammad Jan Rasulyar said unless President Ashraf Ghani took urgent action, the province, a center of opium production and a Taliban heartland, would be lost, Reuters reported.
"Your Excellency, Helmand is standing on the brink and there is a serious need for you to come," he wrote on Facebook.
The highly unusual public plea from a serving official painted a picture strikingly similar to the situation that led up to the fall of the northern city of Kunduz in late September, when Taliban fighters seized and held on to for several days before government troops regained control.
Army Spokesman Mohammad Rasool Zazai said he had no comment on the post, but said Helmand would never collapse, while Police Chief Abul Rahman Sarjang said, "We have strong forces in Helmand. In some places, we leave areas for tactical reasons, but all forces are working together well and very soon we will have major achievements to report."
Over the past six months, Helmand has been the scene of battles between insurgents and security forces.
