Afghanistan Times
Related Articles
AT News
KABUL: Scores of the families who were forced to flee their homes due to relentless violence in recent years have returned back to their homes in Sangin of southern Helmand province—although many residences have turned into ruins as a result of fierce fighting between the combat sides that also included airstrikes.
The main street of the district was once famous as a hotspot for both combatants and civilians.
The Sangin district is well-known for the fierce fighting that occurred there over the past twenty years.
Many residences, markets and public areas are destroyed during fighting between the Afghan war parties.
“There were some checkpoints on this street. They were thinking that the Mujahideens (Islamic Emirate forces) would attack them,” said one resident.
Rahmatullah lost five members of his family, including his father and brothers, in an airstrike. Rahmatullah, who has recently returned to his village, said that he hopes for a permanent end to the war.
“My brother, who (was injured) is alive now, laid here. My older brother fell down there in the water when I pulled him back—he was dead by then,” he said.
Rahmatullah is an example of the millions of Afghans who have been affected by severe violence over the past two decades.
Over 100,000 civilians have been killed in conflicts of the past two-decade, according to available numbers.
