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

Pakistan's military stated that its troops had killed "15-20 Taliban fighters" and wounded many in the Spin Boldak district border district.

A Taliban government representative claimed that twelve Afghan civilians had been killed and over a hundred injured by artillery from Pakistan. He further stated that several Pakistani soldiers had been killed. Not one of the reported deaths could be verified by third parties.

Violence between the neighbouring countries has escalated since blasts rocked Afghanistan last week, which Kabul blamed on Pakistan. The Afghan leadership deny claims that it is sheltering militants aiming at Pakistan.

Online Platforms and Armed Engagements

The two sides are not only fighting for the upper hand on the frontier, but also on social media, attempting to convince the general population that their side is inflicting greater losses.

The most recent clashes come after intense border confrontations over the weekend, when the Taliban claimed to have killed fifty-eight members of the Islamabad's armed forces and Pakistan said it neutralized two hundred "Taliban and affiliated insurgents". The reported death tolls provided by both parties could not be independently verified.

Several days of fragile calm that had persisted since the recent days were broken on Wednesday morning.

On-the-Ground Reports and Consequences

Footage purportedly of the fighting and its aftermath have been circulated online and on messaging groups, including images said to be of those killed and grainy shots from night vision cameras purporting to be of guard positions destroyed. These recordings have not been authenticated.

A source in Spin Boldak in Afghanistan reported that fighting erupted at around 4 a.m. local time (11:30 p.m. GMT on the previous day). Another local in the district, who lives about a short distance away from the frontier post, said that "very heavy hostilities continued for almost five hours".

"I see drones and fighter planes flying over us, some of our relatives are injured," they added.

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

The circumstances were "strained" and more victims were being transferred to hospital, he said.

Displacement and International Responses

A regional Taliban official in Spin Boldak stated that "numerous of families have been displaced since last night due to the intense clashes". He said they were on "maximum readiness" after a few military positions were targeted by aircraft from Pakistan. He further indicated that they had the remains of 2 armed forces members.

In a separate overnight clash on the north-western border, the Pakistani military said that twenty-five to thirty militant and Pakistani Taliban fighters were "believed" to have been eliminated.

The hostilities have led to calls 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 facilitate a ceasefire.

On that day, a UN official, UN special rapporteur on the conditions of human rights in Afghanistan, posted on a social media platform that he was "deeply concerned" by reports of non-combatant deaths and evacuations because of the clashes.

"I urge all parties to practice the utmost caution, safeguard non-combatants, and follow global regulations," he wrote.

Long-Standing Tensions

Islamabad has for years accused the Taliban authorities of permitting the Pakistani militants to operate from their territory and fight against the Pakistani administration in an attempt to impose a rigid religion-based system of governance.

The Taliban leadership has consistently denied this.