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Fresh hostilities broke out along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border early on Wednesday, with each side accusing the opposing side of starting lethal clashes.

The Pakistani military announced that its troops had killed "15-20 Taliban fighters" and injured numerous others in the Spin Boldak frontier area.

A Afghan authorities representative claimed that 12 non-combatants had been fatally struck and more than 100 injured by artillery from Pakistan. He added that several Pakistani soldiers had been killed. Not one of the reported deaths could be independently confirmed.

Hostilities between the neighbouring countries has escalated since blasts shook Afghanistan recently, which Kabul attributed on Pakistan. The Afghan leadership reject allegations that it is harboring militants targeting Pakistan.

Social Media and Military Confrontations

The two sides are not only fighting for the advantage on the border, but also on social media, trying to persuade the general population that their side is causing more damage.

The latest fighting follow intense cross-border hostilities over the past few days, when the Taliban claimed to have killed fifty-eight members of the Islamabad's armed forces and Islamabad reported it killed 200 "Taliban and affiliated terrorists". The claimed casualty figures announced by each side could not be confirmed by external sources.

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

Local Accounts and Consequences

Videos purportedly of the fighting and its aftermath have been circulated online and on social channels, including images said to be of those deceased and grainy shots from low-light cameras claiming to be of check posts destroyed. These videos have not been authenticated.

A informant in the border area in Afghanistan stated that clashes broke out at around 04:00 local time (11:30 p.m. GMT on the previous day). Another resident in the district, who lives about a short distance away from the frontier post, reported that "intense hostilities continued for almost five hours".

"We observed drones and fighter planes flying over us, a number of our relatives are injured," they added.

A medical professional in one of the medical facilities in Spin Boldak stated that he counted "7 fatalities and thirty-six injured transported to the hospital", including men, females and minors.

The situation were "tense" and more victims were being transferred to hospital, he said.

Evacuations and International Responses

A regional authority figure in the area stated that "numerous of households have been forced to flee since last night due to the intense clashes". He said they were on "high alert" after a few military positions were targeted by aircraft from Pakistan. He added that they had the bodies of two armed forces members.

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

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

On Wednesday, a UN official, UN special rapporteur on the conditions of human rights in Afghanistan, wrote on a social media platform that he was "deeply concerned" by accounts of non-combatant deaths and displacement because of the clashes.

"I urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint, protect non-combatants, and follow international law," he wrote.

Historical Disputes

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

The Taliban leadership has consistently rejected these allegations.