Afghans who once watched war from afar forced to flee as front lines shift

KUNDUZ, Afghanistan — Every day they escape the war zones by car, by boat and on foot. Young and old, they carry clothes and blankets, pots and pans, and an abundance of fear. To get to this sweltering northeastern ­Afghan city, they pass through a chaotic landscape of skirmishes and land mines.

Some die along the way. Others arrive broken by bullets or shrapnel. Most are penniless, humiliated and tormented by the loss of relatives and property. And they struggle to comprehend how their once-peaceful lives have been upended.

“This is the first time we’ve ever fled our village,” said Bibi Gul, whose spirit seemed as fragile as the tent in a desolate field that is now her home. “The bombs don’t understand who is the enemy and who is the friend.”

Across Afghanistan, tens of thousands of people are once again on the move. It’s a grim deja vu of the years of civil war and Taliban rule, when masses of Afghans flocked to refugee camps. What’s different now is that much of this desperate migration from rural areas to cities is unfolding in Afghanistan’s northeast, reflecting the conflict’s shift from conventional fighting zones in the south and east.

The new refugees are also a bleak symbol of how the shape of the fight has changed since the U.S.-led NATO mission formally ended combat operations last year. Afghan security forces, now backed by less American air support, are engaged in more fierce ground battles with insurgents, trapping civilians in the paths of mortars, rockets and bullets. With the Taliban fragmented and new militant groups surfacing, including the Islamic State, the number of front lines has surged around the country. Civilian casualties are at record levels.

“You have a different kind of fighting going on now,” said Catherine Howard, acting head of the United Nations’ humanitarian operations in Afghanistan. “Now, you’re seeing a more indiscriminate use of mortars in populated areas, and an increasing number of women and children impacted.” - Read More at washingtonpost

Afghans who once watched war from afar forced to flee as front lines shift

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