Clashes with Taliban halt power supply in south Afghanistan

Clashes between Afghan forces and the Taliban have cut off the main supply of power to Afghanistan's Helmand and Kandahar provinces, according to residents and the chief of the national power company.

The two provinces rely on the Kajaki plant in Helmand for the bulk of their already severely limited supply of electricity, but intense fighting in the area has halted around 90 per cent of power.

"I don't think it is sabotage," said the company's chief commercial officer, Mirwais Alami. "Otherwise they would be cutting off electricity to their own villages. The lines could have been cut by government bullets."

It was difficult to say when power supplies would resume because clashes made it difficult to repair the lines, he added.