Thousands flee as taliban takes district in Kunduz pronvince

The Taliban have captured a district in northern Afghanistan, police tell reporters reportedly forcing thousands of people to flee.

After almost two days of heavy clashes, Afghan security forces withdrew Saturday from Qala-e-Zal district, one of six within Kunduz province, according to Mahfuzullah Akbari, a regional police spokesperson.

An Afghan National Army commando aims his weapon amid ongoing fighting between Taliban militants and Afghan security forces in Kunduz on October 5, 2016.

Clashes continue between Afghan security forces and the Taliban on the Kunduz-Khanabad highway, where Afghan troops are trying to clear the road for local residents, he added.

Afghanistan has been in a fight to hold off the Taliban in Kunduz province since the insurgents briefly captured the city of Kunduz in September 2015 and October 2016.

Residents forced to flee

After Saturday's developments in Kunduz, hundreds of families were "desperately fleeing," said Kate O'Rourke, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) country director in Afghanistan. "Many are accommodated with extended families elsewhere, but some have had to sleep in the open."