[Ghazni residents shared their stories of hardship as they fled the city for safer environs. They told of being trapped without food and water, seeing bodies on the streets and having no news of loved ones because phone networks were down.]
By
Fatima Faizi and Mujib Mashal
 |
|
Injured men being treated
at a hospital in Ghazni on Sunday. At least 165 Afghan
police officers and soldiers and
40 civilians were killed in the siege.
Credit Mohammad Anwar
Danishyar/Associated Press
|
KABUL,
Afghanistan — Some of the
earliest aid that arrived in Ghazni, a strategic city under siege by the
Taliban for days, included body bags and medical supplies, food and water for
thousands of residents, and coffins for 250.
The five-day siege of Ghazni, which eased on
Wednesday as Afghan officials declared that they had retaken full control of
the city, left 165 Afghan police officers and soldiers and at least 40
civilians dead. Hundreds of Taliban fighters were also killed, the officials
said.
Facing acute shortages of water and food, and
having endured days without electricity, Ghazni residents remain in dire need
of assistance. The United Nations called the civilians’ plight “particularly
grim.”
Severe insecurity in Afghanistan has made the
delivery of aid dangerous. In the latest example, the Taliban said on Tuesday
that they had withdrawn a security guarantee with the International Committee
of the Red Cross, which provides crucial assistance near the front lines.
Ghazni residents shared their stories of
hardship as they fled the city for safer environs. They told of being trapped
without food and water, seeing bodies on the streets and having no news of
loved ones because phone networks were down.
Sayed
Ahmad, 30, a government employee, and his wife, Frozan, 23, a dental student
“It was 1 a.m. on Friday that the gunfire
started in Ghazni. At first, it didn’t feel out of the ordinary — we are used
to it in Ghazni. But it got heavy and heavier, and it continued until morning
light,” said Mr. Ahmad, who has a 3-year-old daughter and 8-month-old son with
Frozan. Like many women in Afghanistan, she goes by one name.
“I stayed inside for most of the day. In
evening, I went out and there were 10 or 15 bodies on the street. I have never
seen something like it before. The Taliban torched the telecom antennas and the
situation got worse.”
Frozan said: “My daughter was screaming, and
would not let her father go outside. She kept asking what the Taliban is, and
why they kill people. I kept telling her they are humans, too.”
On the second day, when he went out again,
Mr. Ahmad said, he found much of the city under Taliban control.
“There wasn’t any police in the city. The
Taliban burned down the buildings. I saw the Taliban on the streets and talked
to them for more than an hour. They said that they don’t want to target
civilians. We talked a lot; I asked them why they were burning buildings and
check posts. They said they don’t need fancy buildings — they even hold their
courts in the desert. They kept asking me to show them the houses of government
officials.”
On Tuesday, as the fate of the city remained
uncertain, the couple and their children left for Kabul.
“I didn’t go out of the house at all during
the four days of fighting,” Ms. Frozan said. “On the way to Kabul, the Taliban
stopped the car. In the vehicles where there were women, they wouldn’t check.
But they would question the men.”
Safiullah,
35, a shopkeeper
“When the fighting started the whole city
lost power and there wasn’t enough food and water. We didn’t stock food because
we didn’t know the Taliban would attack the city.
My daughter is only 2, and the fighting
affected her a lot. Since Friday she has been crying, and now she is sick. We
had to leave because of her.
I had 20,000 Afghani at home, and 8,000 of
that I paid for the car from Ghazni to Kabul. The driver said he wouldn’t put
his life in danger for anything less.
As I was searching for a car on the streets,
I saw five dead bodies lying around and five wounded people. One of the wounded
was a young man who wanted to bring medicine from the hospital. He was shot in
the shoulder, but he had a bag full of medicine in his hand. He was lying on
the ground and no one paid attention. I couldn’t do anything — I had to find a
car and save the family. The bodies smelled.
I tried to find water before we left for
Kabul. It was very difficult. I kept searching for open shops. Finally I found
one shop that had six small bottles of water. When I asked the price, the
shopkeeper said I could only take two bottles, and each bottle was 35 afghani.
On normal days, it is 15 afghani.”
Ghulam
Ghaws, 45, a laborer in Ghazni city
“The whole city was under the control of the
Taliban, and they had many check points. We left everything to just save our
lives. We left everything behind. I don’t even remember whether I locked the
gate or not. It was difficult to find a car; people were fighting with each
other over a car.
The Ghazni River is near my home. The river
was full of dead bodies, and they smelled. It was hard to breathe. I saw more
than 200 bodies in the river and on the streets.
The city was out of power, food, water and
medicine. Hospitals got full with bodies on the first day of fighting and after
that there wasn’t any space for new victims. We left because if the Taliban and
the Afghan forces don’t kill us, we might die of hunger. Markets, shops, homes
were burned down and little has remained. If you go there, you won’t be able to
recognize the city.”
A
female police officer in Kabul, who is not being identified because of concerns
for her safety
“It was Friday that my boyfriend sent me a
message and said the situation is critical in Ghazni city. He has been a police
officer for nine years and he was out on a patrol when a friend called him to
say that he shouldn’t return to the headquarters because the Taliban have
attacked. So he went to hide in a hotel.
He called again, at 10 a.m. on Friday and
said the situation was bad, but he had made it back on duty. I tried to console
him, saying everything would be O.K. He wanted to say something, but the phone
didn’t work anymore and I could not hear him.
Then, at 1 p.m., he called me and it was our
last conversation. He said that only two check posts were under their control
and the rest of the city had fallen to the Taliban. I told him that I love him
and he must stay safe — if not for himself, for my sake. After that, I don’t
have any information about him. I don’t know if he is alive or dead.
I madly love him. If he is killed, I can’t
stay alive anymore. We have been in a relationship for a year, and he wanted to
send his family to my parents to ask for my hand. But now I don’t know how he
is. I called many people and asked about the situation in Ghazni, but people
say different things. I don’t know who to trust. I want him to live, please.”
Fahim Abed contributed reporting.
