Citing AFP, France 24 reported on July 25 that more than 22,000 Afghan families have fled from their homes to escape fighting in the former Taliban bastion of Kandahar.

Since early May, violence has reportedly surged across several provinces including in Kandahar after the Taliban militants launched a sweeping offensive just days after the US-led foreign forces began their final withdrawal.

The Taliban's deadly assault has seen the militants capture scores of districts, border crossings and encircle several provincial capitals.

"The fighting has displaced 22,000 families in the past one month in Kandahar," Dost Mohammad Daryab, head of the provincial refugee department, told AFP.

"They have all moved from the volatile districts of the city to safer areas."

On Sunday, fighting continued on the outskirts of Kandahar city.

"The negligence of some security forces, especially the police, has made way for the Taliban to come that close," Lalai Dastageeri, deputy governor of Kandahar province, told AFP.

"We are now trying to organize our security forces."

Local authorities had set up four camps for the displaced people who are estimated to be about 154,000.

Kandahar, with its 650,000 inhabitants, is the second-largest city in Afghanistan after Kabul.

The southern province was the epicenter of the Taliban's regime when they ruled Afghanistan between 1996 to 2001.

Meanwhile, the United Nations said in its report released on Monday that civilian casualties in Afghanistan have increased 47 percent in the last six months. 

The United Nations has warned that without significant de-escalation, 2021 will witness the highest ever number of documented civilian casualties in a single year since UNAMA recording began. 

The UN report said that 1,659 civilians were killed and 3,254 others were wounded over the first six months of this year, which is a 47 percent increase compared to the same period last year.