At least six residents of Faryab province in northern Afghanistan were wounded in a clash with Taliban in Dawlat Abad district, said local sources on Monday.
One resident of the district, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the clash happened on Monday and that two of the wounded are in critical condition.
He said that the clash broke out when Taliban forces prevented some residents from herding their cattle and collecting their harvests in their fields.
Another resident, who also wished to remain anonymous, said that those wounded were from the Turkmen ethnic group. He said land belonging to local residents was usurped by the Taliban.
Taliban has been accused of land grabbing in northern provinces over the past 19 months of their rule in Afghanistan but they have so far rejected such reports.
The Taliban did not comment on the matter, but Jawad Samim, Taliban’s head of information and culture in Faryab said: “I have heard some matter like this, but I have not asked what has happened, and I don’t have accurate information.”
In April last year, a clash broke out between Taliban and local residents in Khwaja Ghar district in Takhar over a land dispute. The land was reportedly earmarked to be used as a veterinary clinic in the district. Taliban’s intelligence official for the district, Shah Mahmoud, was reportedly involved in the clash that left six of his men wounded.
