Wounded flood trauma centre as Taliban attack Afghan city

The rotors of attack helicopters and artillery fire echo across the Kunduz plain in northern Afghanistan. On the outskirts of the provincial capital Kunduz, government forces attempt to repel Taliban assaults and the city's trauma centre is always full. Trapped in the middle of this forgotten conflict far from Kabul, the inhabitants of the province have borne the brunt of the fighting. In recent weeks, the Taliban have advanced on Kunduz, battling against the army, police and local tribal militias known as ‘Arbaki’. At a time when NATO troops are preparing to leave the country by the end of the year, militant attacks on the strategic city have taken a dramatic turn. Since early summer the hostilities have left dozens dead. The hundreds wounded have been admitted to the trauma centre run by Doctors without Borders (MSF), the only one in the region able to treat the most severe cases. In the intensive care ward doctors keep a close eye on five-year-old Somit, who is semi-conscious with a bandage around his head. ‘An anti-aircraft grenade landed on our house and four of the children were wounded,’ said his uncle Mirwais sitting at the boy's bedside. The three older children escaped with light injuries but Somit had shrapnel embedded in his skull, according to AFP.