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New fighting broke out along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border early on Wednesday morning, with each side blaming the other of initiating lethal confrontations.

The Pakistani armed forces stated that its forces had killed "15-20 Afghan Taliban" and wounded numerous others in the Spin Boldak district border district.

A Afghan authorities spokesman claimed that twelve Afghan civilians had been fatally struck and more than 100 wounded by artillery from Pakistan. He further stated that numerous military personnel had been killed. None of the alleged deaths could be independently confirmed.

Violence between the neighbors has escalated since explosions shook Afghanistan recently, which Kabul blamed on Islamabad. The Taliban reject claims that it is harboring armed groups aiming at Pakistan.

Online Platforms and Armed Confrontations

The two sides are not only fighting for the upper hand on the frontier, but also on digital platforms, trying to persuade the general population that their faction is inflicting more damage.

The latest fighting come after severe border hostilities over the past few days, when the Afghan forces claimed to have eliminated 58 members of the Islamabad's armed forces and Islamabad said it neutralized two hundred "militants and linked insurgents". The reported death tolls announced by both parties could not be independently verified.

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

Local Reports and Impact

Videos allegedly 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 grainy shots from low-light cameras purporting to be of guard positions destroyed. These videos have not been verified.

A source in the border area in Afghanistan reported that fighting erupted at around 04:00 local time (11:30 p.m. GMT on Tuesday). Another resident in the district, who lives about a short distance away from the frontier post, reported that "intense hostilities continued for almost several hours".

"We observed unmanned aircraft and jets soaring over us, a number of our relatives are wounded," they added.

A doctor in one of the medical facilities in Spin Boldak reported that he counted "seven fatalities and thirty-six injured transported to the hospital", including males, women and children.

The situation were "tense" and more casualties were being taken to hospital, he noted.

Displacement and Global Responses

A regional authority figure in the area stated that "numerous of households have been displaced since the previous evening due to the intense clashes". He mentioned they were on "high alert" after a several military positions were targeted by aircraft from Pakistan. He added that they had the bodies of 2 Pakistani military members.

In a separate overnight engagement on Pakistan's western frontier, the Pakistani military said that twenty-five to thirty Taliban and local insurgent fighters were "believed" to have been eliminated.

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

On Wednesday, Richard Bennett, UN special rapporteur on the conditions of civil liberties in Afghanistan, wrote on a social media platform that he was "very worried" by reports of civilian casualties and displacement because of the fighting.

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

Long-Standing Tensions

Pakistan has for years alleged the Afghan Taliban of allowing the Pakistan Taliban to function from their land and fight against the Pakistani administration in an effort to enforce a strict Islamic-led system of rule.

The Afghan Taliban government has always rejected this.