(5 Oct 2015) Residents of the northern Afghan city of Kunduz began venturing out of their homes as calm returned to the streets on Monday, in the first sign of a return to routine after the deadly Taliban blitz.
The Taliban were able last week to capture and hold Kunduz for three days.
Clashes were still underway between government forces and the Taliban on the city’s outskirts on Monday, according to Khosh Mohammad, a member of the Kunduz provincial council.
Former Kunduz provincial governor Omar Safi, said he had warned the government that the city was vulnerable to Taliban attack.
He said Taliban militants had been in control of 60 percent of the province, also called Kunduz, for at least three months and were just three to four kilometres (1.9 - 2.5 miles) outside the city.
Safi was sacked on 30 September, two days after the Taliban overran the city with a surprise attack from multiple fronts, and three days after he left for Turkey on a four-day break approved by the president, he said.
Kunduz is an important city on the Tajikistan border, a hub for drug and gun smuggling routes to and from central Asian countries and for alcohol into Afghanistan, Safi said.
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
