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New hostilities broke out along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border early on Wednesday, with each side blaming the opposing side of starting deadly clashes.

Pakistan's armed forces stated that its troops had eliminated "fifteen to twenty Taliban fighters" and injured many in the Spin Boldak border district.

A Taliban government spokesman said that 12 non-combatants had been fatally struck and more than 100 wounded by Pakistani firing. He further stated that several Pakistani soldiers had been killed. None of the reported fatalities could be verified by third parties.

Hostilities between the neighbors has escalated since explosions rocked Afghanistan recently, which the Afghan capital blamed on Pakistan. The Afghan leadership deny claims that it is sheltering armed groups targeting Pakistan.

Social Media and Military Confrontations

The two sides are not only fighting for the advantage on the frontier, but also on digital platforms, trying to persuade the public that their faction is causing more damage.

The latest clashes follow intense border hostilities over the weekend, when the Afghan forces asserted to have killed fifty-eight members of the Pakistani military and Pakistan said it neutralized two hundred "militants and affiliated insurgents". The claimed death tolls announced by both parties could not be confirmed by external sources.

A few days of fragile calm that had persisted since the weekend were shattered on Wednesday.

Local Reports and Consequences

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

A source in Spin Boldak in Afghanistan reported that fighting erupted at around 4 a.m. local time (11:30 p.m. GMT on Tuesday). Another local in Spin Boldak, who lives about a short distance away from the border crossing, said that "intense clashes persisted for almost five hours".

"We observed unmanned aircraft and jets soaring over us, a number of our relatives are injured," they said.

A doctor in one of the hospitals in Spin Boldak stated that he tallied "7 fatalities and 36 injured brought to the medical center", including men, females and children.

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

Evacuations and International Responses

A local Taliban official in the area announced that "hundreds of families have been displaced since last night due to the intense clashes". He said they were on "maximum readiness" after a few military positions were attacked by Pakistani jets. He added that they had the bodies of two Pakistani military members.

In a separate night-time clash on the north-western frontier, the Pakistani military said that 25 to 30 Taliban and local insurgent fighters were "suspected" to have been eliminated.

The hostilities have prompted appeals for reduced tensions from foreign nations including China and Russia, as well as a proposal from the American leader that he could step in to facilitate peace.

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 "very worried" by reports of civilian casualties and evacuations because of the clashes.

"I urge everyone involved to practice the utmost caution, protect non-combatants, and abide by global regulations," he wrote.

Historical Tensions

Islamabad has for years alleged the Afghan Taliban of permitting the Pakistani militants to operate from their territory and battle against the Islamabad government in an effort to enforce a strict religion-based system of rule.

The Taliban leadership has always denied this.