Hundreds flee Afghan town ahead of NATO offensive

February 8, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — Minivans piled high with mattresses and clothing lined up at checkpoints Sunday as hundreds of civilians fled a Taliban-controlled area ahead of a planned NATO offensive in southern Afghanistan.

The militants, meanwhile, dug in for a fight, reinforcing their positions with rocket- propelled grenades and heavy weapons, according to witnesses.

The U.S. military has not given a start date for the operation to clear insurgents from the Helmand province town of Marjah, the biggest community in the south under insurgent control. But the military has said fighting will start soon and many residents weren’t taking any chances.

American aircraft dropped leaflets over Marjah on Sunday warning people of the coming offensive, officers said, and the U.S. fired illumination rounds after sundown, apparently to help spot Taliban positions.

Villagers said the leaflets were aimed primarily at the militants, listing several of their commanders by name and warning fighters to leave the area or be killed.

U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top NATO commander in Afghanistan, said the success of the operation depends on convincing civilians that the government will improve services once the militants are gone.

The offensive in Marjah — a farming community and major opium-production center with a population of 80,000 — will be the first since President Barack Obama announced he was sending 30,000 additional troops.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai discussed the on-going operations in Helmand province in a telephone conversation Sunday with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, a spokesperson for Brown said.

The spokesperson said they “welcomed the leading role” played by Afghan Security Forces in preparing for the offensive, stressing that “Afghan leadership was fundamental to the success of the operation.”