KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- More than 12,400 Afghan families have been forced to flee their houses due to increased Taliban-led militancy and clashes in northern Kunduz province since early 2017, a provincial official said Saturday.
"Up to 12,400 families from remote districts, outskirts of provincial capital Kunduz city and the nearby areas have fled their houses due to recent fightings and clashes in Kunduz over the past seven months," Abdul Salam Hashemi, director of provincial refugees and repatriates department, was quoted in a statement issued by the department as saying.
Some of the displaced families have migrated to the neighboring Baghlan, Takhar and Samangan provinces and hundreds of the displaced families travelled to national capital of Kabul while scores of them are living with their relatives in central parts of Kunduz city, he asserted.
The Kunduz province, as well as neighboring Baghlan and Takhar provinces, has been the scene of heavy clashes over the past couple of months as Taliban has been trying to challenge the government forces in the once relatively peaceful region.
Residents in Kunduz province are worrying that the Taliban onslaught and increasing militancy would force more families to leave their houses for safer places.
"So far, about 3,000 of the displaced families have been provided with assistance by a number of donor organizations as well as government agencies and the process of supplying aids has been continuing," he added.
Presently, more than 600,000 people, according to official data, have been living as Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in Afghanistan. The number of IDPs would further increase due to the ongoing war and insurgency in the country.
