ZHD/HGH/MMN

Hundreds of Afghan families are fleeing their homes in the Helmand city of Marja, after US and British forces announced plans for a bloody end game with the Taliban in the volatile southern province.

A picture taken on July 15th, 2009 shows British soldiers posing with Afghan officials in the Sangin district of Helmand Province, Afghanistan (© AP)

Taliban militants have managed to keep their hold on Maja, which lies 30 Km (18 miles) to the west of the provincial capital of Lashkargah for several years. Authorities in Helmand say more than 400 families have been uprooted for fear of the bloodbath that could emerge out of NATO plans to launch a major offensive against the militants, a Press TV correspondent in Kandahar reported on Sunday.

Last week, the US-led presence and Afghan security forces unveiled plans for the operation, codenamed “Battle of Marja,” which is to take place in several stages and aims at placing the national security forces at the frontline of the conflict. The battle has been billed by the forces as the bloodiest since the start of the conflict eight years ago, when the Taliban regime was ousted by the US-led invasion in 2001.

The operations will combine the efforts of Afghan, American and British forces, as a “demonstration of our capability in a series of operations,” NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters on the sidelines of a Munich security conference. In response, the Taliban has promised to launch counter attacks, vowing to hold on to its southern stronghold.