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

Pakistan's military stated that its forces had eliminated "fifteen to twenty Taliban fighters" and injured numerous others in the Spin Boldak frontier area.

A Afghan authorities representative said that twelve non-combatants had been killed and more than 100 injured by artillery from Pakistan. He added that several military personnel had been lost their lives. None of the alleged fatalities could be verified by third parties.

Hostilities between the neighbors has escalated since explosions rocked Afghanistan last week, which the Afghan capital blamed on Pakistan. The Afghan leadership deny claims that it is harboring armed groups targeting Pakistan.

Online Platforms and Military Confrontations

The opposing forces are not only battling for the upper hand on the frontier, but also on social media, trying to persuade the general population that their side is causing greater losses.

The latest clashes follow intense border confrontations over the weekend, when the Taliban claimed to have killed fifty-eight members of the Pakistani military and Islamabad said it neutralized 200 "Taliban and linked insurgents". The reported death tolls provided by both parties could not be independently verified.

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

On-the-Ground Reports and Consequences

Footage purportedly of the conflict and its aftereffects have been circulated online and on messaging groups, including footage claiming to be of those deceased and blurry shots from low-light cameras purporting to be of check posts destroyed. These recordings have not been verified.

A source in Spin Boldak in Afghanistan stated that clashes broke out at around 04:00 local time (23:30 GMT on the previous day). Another local in the district, who lives about a short distance away from the frontier post, said that "intense hostilities persisted for almost five hours".

"We observed unmanned aircraft and fighter planes flying over us, a number of our relatives are injured," they said.

A medical professional in one of the hospitals in the region stated that he tallied "7 fatalities and 36 injured brought to the medical center", including men, females and children.

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

Evacuations and International Reactions

A regional authority figure in Spin Boldak announced that "numerous of families have been forced to flee since last night due to the heavy clashes". He said they were on "high alert" after a few military positions were attacked by Pakistani jets. He further indicated that they had the bodies of 2 armed forces members.

In a separate night-time clash on the north-western frontier, the Islamabad's forces claimed that 25 to 30 Taliban and local insurgent fighters were "believed" to have been eliminated.

The hostilities have prompted calls for reduced tensions from foreign nations including China and Moscow, as well as a suggestion from US President Donald Trump that he could step in to broker a ceasefire.

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

"I call on all parties to exercise the utmost caution, safeguard civilians, and follow global regulations," he stated.

Historical Disputes

Islamabad has for years accused the Taliban authorities of permitting the Pakistani militants to function from their territory and battle against the Islamabad government in an attempt to enforce a strict Islamic-led system of governance.

The Taliban leadership has always denied this.