27 children killed in Afghanistan war in last three days: UN

News Desk: At least 27 children have been killed in Afghanistan in three days amid fierce fighting between the Taliban and government forces, the UN has said.

The UN children's agency Unicef said it was shocked by the "rapid escalation of grave violations against children".

The Taliban have been making major advances across the country as foreign troops withdraw, taking at least six regional capitals since Friday.

They have rejected international calls for a ceasefire.

In a statement on Monday, Unicef said the atrocities being committed against children were growing "higher by the day".

The 27 fatalities were recorded across three provinces - Kandahar, Khost, and Paktia. Some 136 children were also injured in these areas over the past three days, Unicef said.

"These are not numbers. Each one of these deaths and each case of physical suffering is a personal tragedy," the group's Afghanistan representative Hervé Ludovic De Lys said in the statement.

"These children are much loved and longed-for daughters and sons, brothers and sisters, cousins and friends. All of them are children whose right to protection, under international humanitarian law, has been disregarded by warring parties."

Unicef called on all sides to ensure that children are protected.

What is the latest with the conflict?

Violence has escalated across Afghanistan now that US-led forces have all but withdrawn following 20 years of military operations.

The Taliban have rapidly captured large swathes of countryside, and are now targeting towns and cities.

In their most significant gain since May, the Taliban are now reported to have overrun the northern city of Kunduz.

The city of 270,000 people is considered a gateway to mineral-rich northern provinces. It is in a strategically important location close to the border with Tajikistan, which is used for the smuggling of opium and heroin.

It also holds symbolic significance for the Taliban because it was a key northern stronghold before 2001. The militants captured the city in 2015 and again in 2016 but have never been able to hold it for long.

Afghan officials say security forces are still fighting in the city.

media captionThe BBC's Yogita Limaye travelled to Afghanistan's Kunduz province, most of which has fallen to the Taliban

The insurgents are also reported to have overrun the northern cities of Sar-e-Pul and Taloqan.

Videos posted on social media showed Taliban fighters inside government buildings in Kunduz and Sar-e-Pul, though they could not be independently verified.

The latest reports say the northern city of Aybak may have also fallen to the Taliban on Monday.

The insurgents entered Aybak, the capital of Samangan province, without a fight after community elders asked for the city to be spared more violence, deputy governor Sefatullah Samangani told AFP news agency.

"The governor accepted and withdrew all the forces from the city," he said.

Tolo News and Shamshad TV also tweeted that Afghan forces had retreated from the city without fighting. There was no immediate word from the armed forces.

Elsewhere, US and Afghan planes have been carrying out airstrikes - the advance of the militants has not been halted, but Afghan officials say dozens of Taliban have died.

Heavy fighting has been reported in Pul-e-Khumri and in Mazar-e-Sharif, a trading hub on the border with Uzbekistan. Army commanders say they have pushed back militants from its outskirts

On Monday morning a loud explosion was heard outside police headquarters in the southern city of Lashkar Gah, where the two sides have been fighting for more than a week.

Residents said about 20 civilians had been killed in the past two days, and a school and a clinic destroyed.