Yet another Afghan offensive in Helmand province on its way
Afghans were fleeing the area over the weekend to avoid the impending violence, finding temporary housing in schools and with relatives.
The offensive could become the largest counter-insurgency operation since the war began in late 2001.
And it will be the first major assault since US President Barack Obama announced a 30,000 troop surge in Afghanistan.
Washington-based journalist and blogger Gregg Carlstrom says the offensive probably will not change the course of the conflict.
“It is not the only stronghold left in Afghanistan. The Taliban has other strongholds in Helmand and Kandahar,” said Carlstrom, “but they are saying that in an effort to draw in US and NATO forces because they have been talking about this offensive for months.”
Read also: Sahara becomes desert of terrorism
Dear readers and commenters,
We have implemented a new engine for our comment section. We hope the transition goes smoothly for all of you. Unfortunately, the comments made before the change have been lost due to a technical problem. We are working on restoring them, and hoping to see you fill up the comment section with new ones. You should still be able to log in to comment using your social-media profiles, but if you signed up under an RT profile before, you are invited to create a new profile with the new commenting system.
Sorry for the inconvenience, and looking forward to your future comments,
RT Team.