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Fresh fighting erupted along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border early on Wednesday morning, with both parties accusing the opposing side of starting deadly confrontations.

The Pakistani armed forces announced that its troops had eliminated "15-20 Taliban fighters" and wounded numerous others in the Spin Boldak district border district.

A Afghan authorities spokesman said that 12 Afghan civilians had been killed and more than 100 wounded by Pakistani firing. He added that numerous military personnel had been lost their lives. Not one of the alleged deaths could be independently confirmed.

Violence between the neighbouring countries has escalated since explosions shook Afghanistan recently, which Kabul attributed on Pakistan. The Taliban deny claims that it is sheltering armed groups targeting Pakistan.

Online Platforms and Armed Confrontations

The two sides are not only battling for the upper hand on the border, but also on digital platforms, attempting to persuade the public that their side is causing more damage.

The most recent clashes come after severe border hostilities over the past few days, when the Afghan forces asserted to have killed 58 members of the Islamabad's armed forces and Pakistan reported it killed two hundred "Taliban and affiliated insurgents". The claimed casualty figures announced by both parties could not be confirmed by external sources.

A few days of unstable peace that had persisted since the recent days were broken on Wednesday.

Local Reports and Impact

Footage allegedly of the conflict and its aftereffects have been shared online and on social channels, including images said to be of those deceased and grainy shots from night vision cameras purporting to be of guard positions destroyed. These videos have not been verified.

A informant in the border area in Afghanistan reported that fighting broke out at around 04:00 local time (11:30 p.m. GMT on the previous day). Another local in Spin Boldak, who lives about one kilometre away from the border crossing, said that "very heavy hostilities persisted for almost several hours".

"I see drones and fighter planes flying over us, a number of our relatives are injured," they said.

A doctor in one of the medical facilities in the region stated that he counted "7 bodies and 36 wounded brought to the hospital", including men, females and children.

The circumstances were "strained" and additional victims were being taken to hospital, he said.

Displacement and International Reactions

A regional Taliban official in the area stated that "numerous of families have been displaced since the previous evening due to the heavy clashes". He mentioned they were on "maximum readiness" after a several military positions were targeted by Pakistani jets. He further indicated that they had the bodies of 2 armed forces members.

In a separate overnight clash on Pakistan's north-western border, the Pakistani military claimed that 25 to 30 Taliban and local insurgent fighters were "suspected" to have been eliminated.

The hostilities have prompted appeals for de-escalation from other countries including China and Moscow, as well as a proposal from US President Donald Trump that he could intervene to broker a ceasefire.

On Wednesday, a UN official, UN special rapporteur on the conditions of civil liberties in Afghanistan, posted on a social media platform that he was "deeply concerned" by reports of civilian casualties and displacement because of the clashes.

"I call on everyone involved to practice maximum restraint, protect civilians, and follow international law," he stated.

Long-Standing Disputes

Islamabad has long accused the Afghan Taliban of allowing the Pakistan Taliban to operate from their land and fight against the Pakistani administration in an attempt to enforce a strict Islamic-led system of governance.

The Afghan Taliban government has consistently denied this.