Amu: Although the violence has subsided, Taliban continue to enforce a strict siege on Khash District in northeastern Badakhshan Province, local residents said, adding that telecommunications remain cut, leaving the area isolated. The standoff follows a protest by farmers in Khash who had assembled to oppose the Taliban’s destruction of their opium poppy fields. Taliban members responded with force, leaving at least 15 people dead—including one woman—and more than 60 wounded, according to local sources. Click here to read more (external link).