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New fighting erupted along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border early on Wednesday, with both parties blaming the other of starting lethal confrontations.

The Pakistani armed forces stated that its troops had eliminated "fifteen to twenty Afghan Taliban" and wounded many in the Spin Boldak district border district.

A Taliban government spokesman said that 12 Afghan civilians had been fatally struck and over a hundred injured by artillery from Pakistan. He added that several Pakistani soldiers had been lost their lives. None of the reported fatalities could be independently confirmed.

Hostilities between the neighbouring countries has escalated since explosions shook Afghanistan last week, which the Afghan capital blamed on Pakistan. The Afghan leadership deny allegations that it is harboring militants targeting Pakistan.

Social Media and Armed Confrontations

The two sides are not only fighting for the advantage on the frontier, but also on digital platforms, trying to convince the general population that their faction is causing greater losses.

The latest clashes come after intense border confrontations over the weekend, when the Afghan forces asserted to have killed fifty-eight members of the Pakistani military and Pakistan said it killed 200 "militants and linked insurgents". The reported death tolls announced by both parties could not be independently verified.

A few days of fragile calm that had lasted since the weekend were broken on Wednesday.

On-the-Ground Reports and Consequences

Videos purportedly of the conflict and its aftereffects have been shared on the internet and on social channels, including images said to be of those killed and blurry shots from night vision cameras purporting to be of check posts demolished. These videos have not been verified.

A informant in the border area in Afghanistan reported that fighting erupted at around 4 a.m. local time (11:30 p.m. GMT on Tuesday). Another local in the district, who lives about a short distance away from the border crossing, reported that "intense hostilities continued for almost five hours".

"I see unmanned aircraft and jets soaring over us, a number of our family members are wounded," they added.

A medical professional in one of the hospitals in Spin Boldak stated that he tallied "seven fatalities and thirty-six wounded brought to the medical center", including males, females and minors.

The situation were "tense" and more victims were being taken to hospital, he said.

Displacement and International Responses

A regional Taliban official in the area stated that "numerous of families have been displaced since last night due to the intense fighting". He mentioned they were on "high alert" after a several military positions were attacked by Pakistani jets. He further indicated that they had the bodies of 2 Pakistani military members.

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

The hostilities have prompted appeals for de-escalation from other countries including Beijing and Russia, as well as a suggestion from US President Donald Trump that he could intervene to broker peace.

On Wednesday, Richard Bennett, United Nations representative on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, posted on X that he was "very worried" by reports of non-combatant deaths and evacuations because of the fighting.

"I urge all parties to exercise the utmost caution, protect civilians, and abide by global regulations," he stated.

Long-Standing Disputes

Pakistan has long accused the Taliban authorities of permitting the Pakistan Taliban to function from their territory and battle against the Islamabad government in an attempt to impose a strict religion-based system of rule.

The Taliban leadership has consistently denied this.