On 15 June 1997, intense clashes continued in Mazar-i-Sharif between Taliban fighters and forces loyal to General Abdul Malik and the Northern Alliance. Control of the city shifted rapidly as competing groups launched counteroffensives. Civilians fled as urban combat created instability throughout the region. International observers monitored the violence with concern due to the city’s strategic importance. The fighting marked one of the most volatile periods in northern Afghanistan during the 1990s.
