Afghanistan: Civilians killed, displaced by clashes in Helmand - aid group

Up to 2,000 families have been forced out of their homes in Nawzad District in the southern Afghan province of Helmand following clashes between Taliban insurgents and government forces over the past week, according to the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS). "Our volunteers from Nawzad have reported that people have sought refuge in nearby villages and some have moved to Lashkargah [the provincial capital]," Ahmadullah Ahmadi, head of the ARCS office in Helmand, told IRIN. "They are temporarily displaced," he said. Over 1,000 NATO and Afghan forces have been engaged in a military operation since 4 December to clear the area of insurgents, according to NATO officials, but William Pelletier, a NATO press officer in the south, said no civilians had been displaced. "Civilians had already left the district because of Taliban violence... The area was empty before we started the operation there," Pelletier told IRIN on Dec. 8.