As the war intensifies in Kunduz, governor Assadullah Omarkhail on Saturday warned the Taliban that the province will be turned into a ‘grave’ for the militant group if they refuse to end the violence and lay down their weapons within a month.

He also said the military operation to clear the outskirts of Kunduz city will start in the near future.

“The enemy is the enemy of humanity and Islam. This enemy does not have a place in Islam nor in Afghanistan. The elimination of this kind of enemy is a must,” the governor said.

Meanwhile, Kunduz police said many villages in Kunduz city and in districts of the province have been cleared of Taliban in recent clashes.

“The Taliban has been defeated in recent clashes and they have suffered heavy losses. The government forces have cleared many areas of Taliban,” said Sher Aziz Kamawal, commander of 808 Spinzar Police Zone.

“We are considering a plan to launch a large-scale military operation to eliminate insurgents in insecure regions of Kunduz,” he added.

Commander of Pamir 20 Division Abdul Malik Karimi said Taliban fighters have suffered heavy losses in operations in the past week.

“Fifty five Taliban [militants] were killed and 47 others were wounded in the last week’s clashes. We will turn Kunduz into the grave of the Taliban,” Karimi added.

On Friday, the Kunduz-Takhar Highway was finally cleared of Taliban following heavy clashes between government forces and the group’s fighters over the past eight days.

Mahfuzullah Akbari, spokesman for the Northeast Zone Police, said that Khwaja and Katakhail police outposts along the highway were retaken by Afghan security and defense forces.

He said they had equipped police outposts along the Kunduz-Takhar Highway after they cleared the area of Taliban.

The road from Kunduz city to Khanabad district in Kunduz province has been closed to traffic for the past eight days due to heavy clashes between security forces and Taliban.