U.S. Marines on Tuesday stepped up preparations for a major assault on a key Taliban bastion in southern Afghanistan hailed by officers as the biggest offensive of the eight-year war.
Thousands of Afghan, U.S. and NATO forces are expected to launch Operation Mushtarak (Together) in a bid to clear the Taliban out of Marjah, home to some 80,000 people, and expand the control of the Western-backed Afghan government.
Officials and witnesses say families have fled, loading goats, furniture and clothes on to vehicles and heading to safety in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province around 20 kilometers (12 miles) to the north.
We've got tents, we've got food, we have a contingency plan, everything is in place
Helmand Governor Mohammad Gulab Mangal said authorities are prepared for a possible civilian exodus ahead of an assault that could be launched within days aimed at clearing insurgents from one of their main bastions of control.
Tents and food had been stockpiled to cater for families who left the Marjah area as Afghan, U.S. and NATO troops prepare to take on militants massing in the area, he told reporters.
"So far we have had two waves of displaced people from the area -- 72 and 92 families," he said, adding: "We've got tents, we've got food, we have a contingency plan, everything is in place."
Minimum disruption
Combined force commanders are encouraging civilians to remain in the safety of their homes
The NATO-run International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said fewer than 200 families had left the Nad Ali area, where Marjah is located, since the prospective operation was announced.
"Combined force commanders are encouraging civilians to remain in the safety of their homes," it said in a statement.
"Every effort is being made to ensure minimum disruption to the residents during the operation."
NATO commanders have urged the Taliban to surrender but the militia, whose insurgency to bring down the Afghan government and eject foreign troops is now at its deadliest, have vowed to stay and fight.
"The combat operations for the assault of Marjah have begun," Lieutenant Colonel James "Matt" Baker, of 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines Regiment told AFP late Monday, referring to the final phase of assault preparations.
About five kilometres (three miles) outside Marjah, an AFP photographer said U.S. Marines were searching houses and compounds for improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the chief Taliban killer of foreign troops, and weapons.
The market and main road were empty in the farming belt, although many local residents appeared to be staying, the AFP photographer said.
Habibullah, who heads the district administration of Nad Ali, where Marjah is located, said "There are troops around Nad Ali and Marjah but so far the operation has not started."
The biggest push
The coming operation is the biggest push since U.S. President Barack Obama announced a new surge of troops to Afghanistan and military officials say it is the biggest since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion defeated the Taliban regime.
It is seen as pivotal to ground commander General Stanley McChrystal's strategy to mesh military operations with efforts to establish governance, security and development in a bid to prevent the Taliban from returning.
Mangal said officials had been open about the operation for months to give locals the chance to leave ahead of the assault and allow militants, many of whom are seen as opportunistic fighters, to surrender if they chose.
Obama last December ordered an extra 30,000 U.S. troops into Afghanistan as part of the effort to defeat Al-Qaeda, reverse the Taliban insurgency and end the war so that American soldiers can start heading home in mid-2011.
A Taliban spokesman claimed Tuesday to have developed a new bomb nicknamed Omar, after their fugitive leader and which they say is impossible for Western mine sweepers to detect.
Western military intelligence officials have said most foreign troop deaths, which hit a record 520 last year, are caused by IEDs.
A U.S. and another NATO soldier were killed in attacks in southern and eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, the alliance said.
In northern Afghanistan, an avalanche triggered by heavy snow killed up to 30 people and left another 70 injured, the defense ministry said.
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