The Afghan National Security and Defense Forces (ANDSF) pushed back a Taliban offensive on Mazar-e-Sharif city and retook Nahr-e-Shahi district, Balkh governor Mohammad Farhad Azimi said on Tuesday.

Azimi said that on Monday night the ANDSF and the Taliban clashed in Nahr-e-Shahi district and Dehdadi district.

The recent spate of violence has displaced between 20,000 and 30,000 people in the south of Afghanistan, particularly in Kandahar province, which has seen heavy fighting in recent months, according to government officials and elders.

 There are also many families who have been displaced in the provinces of Farah, Badghis and Helmand.