Helmand police headquarters said on Wednesday that almost 18,000 Afghan National Police (ANP) officers have been killed in battles in the southern province of Helmand over the past fifteen years.
 
These officers and soldiers were killed in battles and thousands of heavy and light weapons also went missing in this time, said Aqa Noor Kentoz, Helmand police chief.
 
Civil society activists and provincial council members have said the figure is shocking.
 
“Eighteen thousand police officers have been killed over the past fifteen years and we honor the blood of each soldier, there have been wars for a long time, we are still committed to our mission against the militant Taliban,” he said,
 
Helmand residents have asked government to take action and save the soldiers.
 
“Helmand war constitutes 40 percent of the overall war in the country; if action is not taken to reduce the figure, there is the possibility that thousands more soldiers will be affected,” said Karim Atal, head of Helmand Provincial Council.
 
Civil society activists in Helmand said that poor leadership of the war is one of the key reasons behind this problem.
 
“We are extremely concerned about the figure of casualties among the security forces; poor war leadership is one of the key reasons for the fatalities; government needs to prevent it to avoid more casualties,” said Abdul Haq Zuwakman, a civil activist in Helmand.
 
This comes amid ongoing battles between Afghan security forces and the Taliban in several cities and towns in Helmand.