Nato troops have announced on Tuesday morning the launch of a military offensive in Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand. Over 5,000 troops – foreign soldiers and Afghan security forces – will try to grab control of this mostly deserted land, largely taken over by the Taliban in the last month.

 

A province at war. In early February the district of Musa Qala, where a controversial truce between British forces and the Taliban was agreed upon, was taken over once again by Mullah Omar's combatants just in two days. Later, the Taliban conquered the district of Washir too, after besieging for days British soldiers, confining them in a gorge and then forcing them to withdraw from the area. The northern tipo of the province, around Baghran, is a guerrillas stronghold, where foreign troops have never set foot and Kabul's government has no authority at all. This small valley, where word is that all Taliban fleeing from Nato's bombings on Helmand take refuge, is strategically important. From Baghran it's easy to penetrate the provinces of Ghor and Farah (the area controlled by the Western regional command, run by Italian troops): the 19^th February attack to conquer, even though just for two days, the district of Bakwa in Farah province, started from here. But war extends to other regions too: Taliban and British troops are still fighting in Grishk, north of the provincial capital Lashkargah, where in the last days at least eight civilians have been killed after being caught in the crossfire. Grishk, too, was briefly conquered by the Taliban after they took control of Musa Qala. Finally, on the northern districts, Nato is still dropping 900-kg bombs.

Operation Achilles. “The first units have reached their position at five o'clock this morning. Operation Achilles will involve around 4.500 Nato troops and almost 1,000 Afghan soldiers”, read an Isaf statement. “Strategically, our goal is allowing the Afghan government to start the Kajaki project”, which is the erection of a huge dam, that would provide electricity to the northern parts of the province. But the Taliban don't look poised to surrender: construction works have been stalled for months, foreign engineers working on the project have received death threats and have left the site. Nato is betting everything on Operation Achilles – and Helmand has indeed been its Achilles' heel up to now.