By RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan
October 28, 2019
Afghan and Pakistani security forces have clashed along the countries’ disputed border, leaving at least three civilians dead, Afghan officials said.
A firefight broke out in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Kunar on October 27 and continued the following morning, the officials said.
Sher Zamin Khan, a member of Kunar’s provincial council, said the clashes erupted after Pakistani forces attempted to erect a military installation along the border district of Nari.
Khan said three Afghan women were killed and three other people were wounded in the incident.
Abdul Ghani Musamem, spokesman for the provincial governor, said Pakistani forces fired mortar shells and rockets across the border.
There was no immediate reaction from Pakistan.
The two countries share a 2,500-kilometer border known as the Durand Line, which Pakistan considers to be an international border. Afghanistan rejects the colonial-era border that was created in 1893.
In 2017, Pakistan said it started building a fence along the border to improve security, a move that sparked condemnations in Kabul.
Pakistani forces have continued to build border fortifications, sparking numerous clashes along the border.
With reporting by AP