KANDAHAR — Thousands of terrified Afghan civilians are fleeing the southern Helmand province ahead of a major offensive by the foreign troops against Taliban southern stronghold.

 
"We left the area because lots of aircraft were flying over and lots of forces moving back and forth," Shikar Gah, who left with 25 relatives, told Agence France Presse (AFP) on Monday, February 8.

Thousands of foreign and Afghan forces are poised to take the town of Marjah, described as the last major bastion of Taliban control in the province.

Military officials say the operation -- dubbed Mushtarak ("Together") – is the biggest since the 2001 US-led invasion.

Ahead of the major assault, expected to start this week, a stream of frightened families are packing up their belongings and leaving Marjah.

"We know that the wrath of the Americans is coming upon us," villager Abdul Khaleq told Reuters after arriving in Lashkar Gah with his family.

"We left Marjah to save our lives and our families' lives."

So far more than 400 families, or 2,000-3,000 people, had left the city and many preparing to join them.

Provincial authorities set up emergency reception centers and stockpiled food and tents for up to 50,000 people outside Marjah.

"We have provided some 70 tents with the help of the international military and in Lashkar Gah we have set aside two schools to shelter people as they arrive," said Ghulam Farooq Noorzai, head of the provincial department of refugees and repatriation.

The offensive is the biggest push since US President Barack Obama announced a new surge of troops to Afghanistan and is considered critical for the US and NATO mission in the country.

There are more than 114,000 foreign troops currently deployed in war-ravaged Afghanistan and the number is due to rise to nearly 150,000 this year.

Defiant

Although the clock is ticking down, Taliban struck a defiant tone, vowing to repel the advancing troops.

Yousuf Ahmadi, a purported Taliban spokesman, asserted that their forces would prefer to stay and fight.

"Afghan and foreign forces have come to the Marjah area and our mujahedeen forces are also in the area firing rockets at them," he told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location.

Villagers escaping Marjah confirmed Taliban intentions.

"The Taliban are not going to leave Marjah," Abdul Manan, a resident who had fled Marjah to Helmand's capital, Lashkar Gah, told Reuters.

"We have seen them preparing themselves. They are bringing in people and weapons. We know there is going to be a big fight."

Another resident noted that Taliban are digging in and planting their home-made lethal IEDs everywhere in the city.

"The Taliban are very active in Marjah. They are planting mines there and in the surrounding areas," said villager Abdul Khaleq.

NATO admitted Monday that two of its soldiers were killed in a bomb explosion in southern Afghanistan.

The latest deaths took to 61 the number of the foreign soldiers killed since the start of the year.

In 2009, the deadliest since the 2001 US-led invasion toppled the Taliban regime, 520 foreign soldiers lost their lives, compared to 295 the year before.