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Afghan official makes plea to president via Facebook Afghan official makes plea to president via Facebook
(about 3 hours later)
A deputy governor in Afghanistan has made a public plea to the president on Facebook for help in fighting the Taliban.A deputy governor in Afghanistan has made a public plea to the president on Facebook for help in fighting the Taliban.
Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar wrote the message to Ashraf Ghani on the social network to say 90 soldiers had been killed in the past two days in Helmand.Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar wrote the message to Ashraf Ghani on the social network to say 90 soldiers had been killed in the past two days in Helmand.
He warned the president that the province could fall to the Taliban.He warned the president that the province could fall to the Taliban.
Mr Ghani's entourage was not telling him the reality of the situation, he added.Mr Ghani's entourage was not telling him the reality of the situation, he added.
Facebook "isn't a good source to deliver the message", he admitted, but "Helmand will collapse to the enemies and it's not like Kunduz, where we could launch an operation from the airport to retake it. That is just impossible and a dream," he wrote. Facebook "isn't a good source to deliver the message", he admitted, but "Helmand will collapse to the enemies and it's not like Kunduz, where we could launch an operation from the airport to retake it. That is just impossible and a dream".
The TalibanThe Taliban
The Taliban huntersThe Taliban hunters
Who are the Taliban?Who are the Taliban?
Why Taliban special forces are fighting Islamic StateWhy Taliban special forces are fighting Islamic State
Mr Rasoulyar appealed directly to the president for intervention in the province.Mr Rasoulyar appealed directly to the president for intervention in the province.
"Everyone loves power, I also like my job, but to protect my job I am not ready to pay a huge price," he wrote."Everyone loves power, I also like my job, but to protect my job I am not ready to pay a huge price," he wrote.
"Be quick and act on this! Protect Helmand from this life and death situation and distance yourself from the circle of those lawyers who tell you everything is OK and the situation is normal.""Be quick and act on this! Protect Helmand from this life and death situation and distance yourself from the circle of those lawyers who tell you everything is OK and the situation is normal."
Sediq Seddiqi, a spokesman for the Afghan interior ministry, told the BBC that the ministry would release a statement on the death toll quoted by Mr Rasoulyar. In recent months, Taliban insurgents have launched multiple offensives, stretching the Afghan army, which is short of reinforcements, fuel and ammunition.
A spokesman for one of Helmand's security departments, who wished to remain anonymous, confirmed the number of casualties. The fact that a senior Afghan official is addressing the president on Facebook reflects significant internal divisions within the administration, says the BBC's World Service South Asia Editor Ethirajan Anbarasan.