Situation in Helmand 'critical': provincial council member A Helmand provincial council member says the situation in Helmand is 'critical', with clashes intensifying Monday as the Taliban pressed an offensive to capture a key district in Helmand's opium-growing heartland, a day after an official warned the entire southern Afghan province was on the brink of collapse. Local residents reported crippling food shortages in Sangin district, long seen as a hornet's nest of insurgent activity, after the Taliban began storming government buildings on Sunday. IMAGES & SOUNDBITES