KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- Waiting at a bus stop along with other families also wanting to leave the conflict-hit Kunduz city and head to a safer place, Mohammad Sarwar, 34, lamented that there were no vehicles available to relocate his family.
"Since 05:00 a.m. local time, I have been waiting for a vehicle to take my family to Kabul, it is almost 11:00 a.m. now, but no buses or cars are available," Sarwar said, half frustrated, half terrified.
Taliban militants in a surprise move overran parts of the strategically important Kunduz city, the capital of the northern Afghanistan's Kunduz province, along the border with Tajikistan, on Oct. 3, forcing many families to leave the war zone for safer places.
The prolonged fighting has also claimed countless civilian lives over the past eight days and government forces have yet to recapture the key city in the northern region.
"Hundreds of families, including dozens of my neighbors have shifted their families to safer places including the neighboring Takhar province and the capital city of Kabul to escape the war," Sarwar, scared for the safety of his own family, said, adding that the rich families have already been able to escape the war for peaceful areas.
Revealing his nightmare, Sarwar proclaimed distraughtly that the Taliban fighters have taken positions inside residential houses and that many families have been unwittingly caught in the cross fire and ultimately have lost their lives as a result of the deadly exchanges.
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