New hostilities erupted along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border early on Wednesday morning, with each side accusing the opposing side of initiating deadly clashes.
The Pakistani military announced that its forces had killed "15-20 Taliban fighters" and wounded numerous others in the Spin Boldak border district.
A Afghan authorities representative claimed that twelve Afghan civilians had been killed and more than 100 injured by artillery from Pakistan. He further stated that numerous Pakistani soldiers had been lost their lives. Not one of the reported fatalities could be independently confirmed.
Violence between the neighbouring countries has flared since explosions shook Afghanistan last week, which the Afghan capital attributed on Pakistan. The Afghan leadership reject claims that it is sheltering armed groups aiming at Pakistan.
The opposing forces are not only fighting for the upper hand on the border, but also on social media, attempting to persuade the public that their faction is inflicting more damage.
The latest fighting follow severe cross-border confrontations over the weekend, when the Afghan forces asserted to have eliminated 58 members of the Islamabad's armed forces and Pakistan said it killed 200 "Taliban and linked terrorists". The claimed casualty figures provided by each side could not be independently verified.
Several days of unstable calm that had persisted since the recent days were broken on Wednesday.
Footage allegedly of the fighting and its aftermath have been circulated on the internet and on social channels, including footage claiming to be of those deceased and blurry shots from low-light cameras claiming to be of guard positions destroyed. These videos have not been authenticated.
A source in the border area in Afghanistan stated that fighting broke out at around 04:00 local time (11:30 p.m. GMT on the previous day). Another resident in Spin Boldak, who lives about a short distance away from the border crossing, reported that "very heavy hostilities persisted for almost five hours".
"I see drones and fighter planes flying over us, a number of our relatives are injured," they added.
A doctor in one of the medical facilities in Spin Boldak reported that he tallied "seven bodies and thirty-six injured brought to the medical center", including males, females and children.
The circumstances were "strained" and more victims were being transferred to medical care, he said.
A local Taliban official in Spin Boldak stated that "hundreds of households have been forced to flee since the previous evening due to the intense fighting". He mentioned they were on "maximum readiness" after a few Taliban posts were attacked by Pakistani jets. He further indicated that they had the bodies of 2 armed forces members.
In a separate overnight engagement on the north-western border, the Pakistani military said that 25 to 30 militant and local insurgent fighters were "suspected" to have been eliminated.
The clashes have prompted appeals for reduced tensions from foreign nations including Beijing and Russia, as well as a proposal from the American leader that he could intervene to facilitate a ceasefire.
On that day, a UN official, UN special rapporteur on the conditions of human rights in Afghanistan, wrote on a social media platform that he was "deeply concerned" by accounts of civilian casualties and evacuations because of the fighting.
"I call on everyone involved to practice the utmost caution, safeguard civilians, and follow global regulations," he stated.
Islamabad has for years alleged the Afghan Taliban of allowing the Pakistani militants to function from their territory and battle against the Islamabad government in an effort to enforce a rigid Islamic-led system of governance.
The Afghan Taliban government has always denied these allegations.
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