CHAMAN: Residents of villages near Pakistan’s border city of Chaman surveyed damaged houses and fled the area this week after days of alleged cross-border shelling from Afghanistan.
Heavy exchanges of fire between Pakistani security and Afghan Taliban forces at the Chaman border sector killed four Pakistani soldiers, a senior Pakistani security official told Reuters. The clashes started on Sunday (April 26) the official added.
Local resident Noor Mohammad said on Tuesday that an explosion struck at 4:15 a.m. while people slept, burying two young men under rubble. He said one of them died after being taken to Quetta.
“We appeal to both countries to take care of homes, the people here, and especially the children,” Mohammad said. “In the middle of the night, children and women scream and the elderly are left displaced.”
Another resident, Naimat Ullah, said the entire village had emptied after days of firing.
“We took our belongings [out] and will come back once the situation returns to normal,” he said.
The Chaman border crossing is one of the main trade and transit corridors between Pakistan and Afghanistan, frequently witnessing security issues between the two countries.
Afghanistan has also accused Pakistan of targeting civilians as tensions escalate between the two nations.
The Afghan Taliban said on Monday that mortar and rocket attacks launched by Pakistan killed four people and wounded 70 more. Pakistan denied the claim.
Tensions along the border have persisted for years, with the worst clashes in years erupting in February when Pakistan carried out airstrikes inside Afghanistan.
There was no immediate comment from the Afghan Taliban administration in Kabul.
