Kandahar, Afghanistan - Hundreds of villagers are fleeing a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan ahead of a much-publicized major operation by Afghan and NATO troops expected in the coming days. NATO and Afghan military officials have been publicly talking for weeks about their imminent onslaught in volatile Helmand province's Marjah district. The operation, dubbed Mushtarak, a Dari word for "together," is said to be the biggest since the ouster of the Taliban regime in late 2001.
The British military said 15,000 Afghan police, soldiers and NATO troops are to take part in the operation, which NATO military spokesman Eric Tremblay said was aimed at driving the Taliban from their main stronghold in the province and re-establishing government authority.
The Taliban are also active in other parts of the province, which experienced fierce fighting between the militants and US and British troops last year, but Marjah, home to more than 80,000 people and the main market for opium traffickers in the country, is the only region entirely under militant control.
Wary of NATO aerial bombings, which have killed Afghan civilians in the past, hundreds of locals have been fleeing Marjah town, carrying money and jewelry and leaving behind their homes, livestock and other property.
"I left the district along with 14 members of my family more than a month ago because we have been hearing about this operation for weeks now," said Marjah resident Haji Zaman, who now lives in the provincial capital, Lashkargah, with his family.
"A lot of my cousins and other relatives are still in the district," he said. "Everyone wants to leave the area, but many people cannot afford to pay for the transportation or they just don't want to leave everything behind."
Abdul Wali, another resident, said the provincial capital has become a popular destination for many other families.
"Thousands of people have already come, and there are thousands more on the way from Marjah to Lashkargah," he said.
But Daoud Ahmadi, a spokesman for Helmand's governor, said there was no rampant influx. Around 90 families, or 500 people, came to Lashkargah from Marjah last month, compared with 200 families from other districts, he said.
Ahmadi said the provincial government prepared food and shelter for up to 15,000 people in the capital city.
Another resident of Marjah, who identified himself only as Khan to be able to speak more candidly, said the Taliban was digging in for the fight and moving weapons into Marjah town.
Khan, who left the district Friday with his family on foot, said that in some areas, the militants were preventing people from leaving.
"They have announced in mosques that they have enough weapons to distribute among the people to defend their district," he said.
Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousif Ahmadi said the fundamentalist Islamist fighters were "fully prepared" to defend the district.
He said the NATO operation had already begun, but thousands of US forces were unable to enter the district because of roadside bombs recently planted around its main town.
Wary of civilian casualties, which have become a delicate issue between Afghanistan and international forces, NATO planes dropped leaflets informing residents about the looming operation. Locals also said the provincial governor, speaking in a radio broadcast, asked the people to move away from Taliban positions.
But the publicity has also given the Taliban more chances to plant additional roadside bombs around Marjah town and consolidate their positions. Roadside bombs, which have become a favorite Taliban tactic, killed most of the 520 NATO soldiers who died in Afghanistan last year.
Mushtarak is to be the first large-scale operation since US President Barack Obama ordered 30,000 additional US troops into Afghanistan to turn the tide of the eight-year war. Up to 7,000 additional NATO troops were also expected by summer on top of around 113,000 international soldiers already deployed to Afghanistan.
The upcoming operation is to be led by Afghan troops, the first major test for the country's indigenous forces as they were expected to take security responsibility from NATO within the next five years.
Western countries have recently endorsed a plan to increase the number of Afghan police and army forces to 300,000 by October 2011, but given the low salaries and rising casualties among Afghan security forces, it seems unlikely for the country to meet that target.
President Hamid Karzai, speaking at the annual Munich Security Conference of world defence policymakers, said Sunday that his government was considering reintroducing conscription to have enough forces to defend the country after the NATO phaseout.
