Mr. Miakhel said the Taliban were demanding that the government select only health officials recommended by their insurgent movement, and that they select the locations of any new clinics. Other officials said the Taliban also wanted the government to send surgeons and medical supplies to district clinics to care for wounded insurgents. In the face of the Taliban pressure, the provincial government seemed helpless. Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, denied that the insurgents had made any threats and said that the clinics had “collapsed” because of government incompetence and corruption. “All the clinics and the hospital in Oruzgan, they have no facilities — no medicine, no doctors, no personnel,” Mr. Mujahid said.

Source: New York Times September 23, 2017 18:33 UTC