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Fresh fighting erupted along the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier early on Wednesday, with both parties accusing the other of starting deadly clashes.

Pakistan's armed forces announced that its troops had eliminated "15-20 Taliban fighters" and injured many in the Spin Boldak border district.

A Taliban government representative claimed that 12 Afghan civilians had been killed and more than 100 injured by artillery from Pakistan. He further stated that numerous Pakistani soldiers had been lost their lives. Not one of the reported deaths could be verified by third parties.

Violence between the neighbors has flared since blasts shook Afghanistan last week, which the Afghan capital attributed on Pakistan. The Taliban reject claims that it is sheltering armed groups targeting Pakistan.

Social Media and Armed Engagements

The two sides are not only fighting for the upper hand on the border, but also on social media, trying to convince the public that their faction is causing greater losses.

The latest clashes come after intense cross-border confrontations over the weekend, when the Afghan forces claimed to have killed 58 members of the Islamabad's armed forces and Islamabad reported it neutralized two hundred "Taliban and affiliated terrorists". The reported death tolls announced by both parties could not be confirmed by external sources.

A few days of fragile calm that had persisted since the recent days were broken on Wednesday.

On-the-Ground Reports and Impact

Videos allegedly of the fighting and its aftereffects have been circulated online and on social channels, including footage claiming to be of those deceased and blurry shots from low-light cameras purporting to be of guard positions demolished. These videos have not been authenticated.

A source in Spin Boldak in Afghanistan stated that clashes erupted at around 4 a.m. local time (23:30 GMT on Tuesday). Another local in the district, who lives about one kilometre away from the frontier post, said that "intense clashes persisted for almost several hours".

"We observed unmanned aircraft and jets flying over us, some of our family members are injured," they added.

A doctor in one of the medical facilities in the region reported that he tallied "7 fatalities and 36 injured transported to the hospital", including males, females and children.

The situation were "tense" and more casualties were being transferred to medical care, he said.

Displacement and Global Responses

A local Taliban official in the area announced that "numerous of families have been displaced 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 further indicated that they had the remains of two Pakistani military members.

In a separate overnight engagement on Pakistan's western frontier, the Islamabad's forces claimed that twenty-five to thirty militant and local insurgent fighters were "believed" to have been eliminated.

The clashes have prompted appeals for reduced tensions from foreign nations including Beijing and Russia, as well as a proposal from US President Donald Trump that he could step in to facilitate 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 reports of civilian casualties and displacement because of the fighting.

"I urge all parties to exercise the utmost caution, protect civilians, and abide by international law," he stated.

Long-Standing Tensions

Pakistan has for years accused the Afghan Taliban of permitting the Pakistan Taliban to operate from their territory and battle against the Pakistani administration in an effort to enforce a strict Islamic-led system of rule.

The Taliban leadership has always denied these allegations.