Afghan civilians were increasingly leaving the northern city of Kunduz on Thursday to escape fighting between government forces and the Taliban, a battle now in its fourth day, officials said.
The fighting in Kunduz, located on a key national crossroads, has raised concerns of a repeat scenario as last year, when it briefly fell to the Taliban.
Insurgents at the time held Kunduz for three days, then resisted Afghan and US forces for almost three weeks before the city was brought fully back under government control.
This time, the insurgents, who launched a multi-pronged attack early on Monday, have been pushed back from the city’s south, according to General Qasim Jungalbagh, the police chief for Kunduz province.
Around 1200 people have left the city for neighboring Takhar province since Wednesday, according to one provincial refugee official.
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