KUNDUZ: (APP) Afghan forces battled to flush out Taliban insurgents from Kunduz for a fifth day Friday, as a humanitarian crisis deepened with civilians in city reporting a crippling shortage of food and medicines.
The Taliban launched an all-out assault on Kunduz Monday, triggering fierce fighting and sending residents fleeing, a year after the militants briefly overran the city in a stinging blow to NATO-backed Afghan forces.
The government said it was seeking to push insurgents out of residential neighbourhoods as they took up positions inside homes.
"Government forces have made advances in the last couple of days and have cleared a lot of areas, killing dozens of Taliban fighters," Kunduz deputy police chief Mohammad Masoom Hashimi told AFP.
"Our clearance operation is still ongoing in the city."
Hashimi did not offer information about civilian casualties. More than 200 are estimated to be wounded, according to local medical officials cited by Amnesty
International, which warned of a looming humanitarian crisis.