The code name is Mushtarak, and it’s the largest operation ever launched by NATO forces in Afghanistan. With a big media campaign to back it up. It took two weeks of fighting to expel the Taliban from their bastion in Marjah, and now the battle to win the hearts and minds of its inhabitants is proving more and more difficult.
Operation Moshtarak has been hailed as a success by NATO and Afghan forces: the district around the city of Marjah is no longer in the hands of the Taliban. But from a humanitarian perspective it's not as clear-cut: an unknown number of civilians were killed or wounded in the fighting, and many fled leaving everything behind. Now the Red Cross says so many landmines were laid during the violence that a return to normal life will be almost impossible for civilians...
Since 2001, the international community has spent at least 30 billion dollars on development projects in Afghanistan. But there are growing fears that much of the money has gone to waste.
The village of Char Asiab is one of the main entryways into Kabul province. For the past year, residents of this village have seen the fighting get closer to their homes as the Taliban near Kabul.
Claire Billet 
