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Dozens of protesters are angry in Kunduz in northern Afghanistan after intense fighting between Taliban fighters and the Afghan army. A dozen civilians were killed on Saturday, March 23, in air strikes that supported Afghan troops on the ground. Women and children are among the victims.
With our correspondent in Kabul, Sonia Ghezali
According to local authorities, civilians killed on Saturday belonged to two families from a village on the outskirts of Kunduz, where joint operations of the Afghan and US military took place.
If the Afghan Ministry of Defense says that at least 58 fighters have been killed in air strikes in the area, local people have expressed anger with the local media. " We want to know why they are targeting the people when they know exactly where the Taliban's places are? Asks a rebellious villager.
NATO's mission in Afghanistan says that all precautions have been taken before the air raids are carried out. The Taliban were hiding in the houses without worrying about civilians, said a NATO spokesman in Kabul.
This is not the first time civilians are killed in air strikes are increasingly angering the population. The civilian casualties of the air raids were even more numerous in 2018 than the year before, according to the UN.
The Afghan conflict killed nearly 11,000 civilians last year , a new record. Even though the United States and the Taliban are multiplying meetings for a peace agreement to end the conflict, on the ground fighting has intensified in recent weeks, particularly in northern and southern Afghanistan .
→ [Reportage] Afghanistan: the nightmare of civilian victims of air strikes