basically surrounding the entire city of kandahar now. is that correct? definitely, yes. reporter: and so where is there to go? nowhere. so there is only two options do or die. reporter: do or die. yes. reporter: and what does do look like? that is the thing to convince different sides to cease-fire, to work on peace, to convince them not to fight, not to kill. reporter: but that is a tall order in a city where war has become part of everyday life. you can probably see there is a lot more cars on the road than there were previously, and that s because in just two minutes at 6:00 p.m. the cell phone network gets cut across the city, and that s when the fighting usually starts. [ explosions ] throughout the night the sounds
kuflsly taken. but unfortunately it doesn t look like it s going to be the last. 17 of afghanistan s 34 provincial capitals are now under threat by the taliban. three of them are completely under siege. kandahar, as you saw in that piece, one of them, completely surrounded by the taliban. they re in control of a quarter of the city and making gains every day. and the broader concern across the country is that things are very quickly unraveling. and no one yet knows, jim, how can these gains from the taliban be reversed? can afghan forces successfully launch some kind of counteroffensive? so you have really profound anxiety being felt everywhere amid an increasingly grim situation, jim. i m sure. and i m sure the people are genuinely scared. clarissa ward, thanks so much. it s good to have you on the ground there. coming up next, fighting the flames desperately in northern california.
there were previously, and that s because in just two minutes at 6:00 p.m. the cell phone network gets cut across the city, and that s when the fighting usually starts. [ explosions ] throughout the night the sounds of gunfire and artillery pierce the darkness. kandahar is the birthplace of the taliban. they are intent on taking it back. and the government knows it cannot afford to lose it. by day an eerie calm holds. the u.n. says more than 10,000 people are now displaced in this city. on the outskirts of town we find 30 families camped out in an abandoned construction site. he s saying that none of these children have fathers, all of their fathers have been killed in the fighting. 35-year-old rubina fled with her two daughters to escape fighting after her husband was shot dead.
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capital. this one, on the border with iran. the first to fall since the biden administration announced a full withdrawal of u.s. troops by the 20th anniversary of 9/11. another, big target is kandahar. major city. cnn s clarissa ward got exclusive access to the fighting there. reporter: on the road to kandahar s front line, there is still civilian traffic. even as the taliban inches deeper into the city. afghan commandoes have agreed the take us to one of their bases. this used to be a wedding hall. now it s the front line position. most of the fighting here happens at night. the taliban snipers are at work 24 hours a day. from snipers? yes. the men tell us the taliban are hiding in houses just 50 yards away from us. and they shoot from people s homes? yeah. you see this is our civilians homes. we cannot use, you know, the big weapons, the heavy weapons.