Clashes have broken out between Taliban and Afghan forces near the city of Ghazni, which forced some civilians to flee from their homes.

Afghan officials said on Friday that the clashes have broken out  after Taliban raided three villages on the outskirts of Ghazni .

Some newly built checkpoints have been destroyed and power to some parts of Ghazni have been cut off due to the clashes in the city.

Provincial police chief Farid Mashal said government forces counter-attacked to block the insurgents from approaching the city.

“We were swift to push the Taliban out of the villages, but many civilians fled to neighboring villages fearing the fighters could kill them,” said Mashal. He said there were no reports of casualties.

More than 1,000 Taliban forces assaulted the city, 150 km (95 miles) southwest of Kabul, on the main road to southern Afghanistan, this month killing at least 150 soldiers and 95 civilians.

Taliban forces roamed the city for four days, destroying communications towers and cutting power and water supplies before government forces regained control with the help of U.S. air strikes.

Afghanistan government and international aid agencies have been struggling to restore services in the city over recent days.

The latest clashes came days after Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani offered Taliban a three-month ceasefire but the insurgents rejected it, two senior militant commanders said, and vowed to maintain their attacks on the government and its foreign allies.

Repeated assaults on Ghazni has exposed the fragile grip Ghani’s Western-backed government has on security and its apparent inability to prevent large-scale militant attacks.

Ghani has ordered an investigation into the attacks and announced disbursement of $20 million for immediate relief and reconstruction process.

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