But international efforts continue to transform this troubled Afghan province from a war zone to a place of peace and development.
With a large number of British troops and smaller contingents of Estonian, Danish, and Czech soldiers, Helmand has had the largest concentration of NATO-led International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) troops over the past year -- some 7,000.
As part of the "war on terror," a small number of U.S. forces also operate separately against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda insurgents who use the province as one of their main bases for fighting against international forces.
And Helmand residents are upset about the level of fighting in their daily lives.
Foreign Troops Blamed For Civilian Deaths
Haji Shah Wali, a resident of Helmand's relatively peaceful Nawa-i-Barakzai district, tells RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan that foreigners -- both those in Al-Qaeda and their Taliban allies as well as the international forces -- are responsible for causing the insecurity in society. The troops kill civilians "without reason," he says. "They also do random aerial bombings and [the international troops] force people to leave their houses and to take up guns."
International media estimates of more than 5,000 deaths would make the current year the most violent in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban regime in late 2001. Much of that violence has been concentrated in Helmand, where ISAF troops have fought fierce battles against Taliban insurgents.
While originally mandated to provide security assistance to the Afghan government and thereby bring reconstruction and development to Helmand, the international troops increasingly find themselves mired in a violent insurgency.
For many Helmand residents, the indifference by ISAF forces to local customs and traditions and their unwillingness at times to listen to tribal elders has contributed to the problems in Helmand.
Mullah Haji Habibullah, a Helmand tribal elder, says international forces frequently depend on unreliable local informants who sometimes lead ISAF troops to bomb or arrest the informants' enemies, who are often innocent civilians.
"They hardly listen to our tribal elders, district administrator, or police chief. They often rely on their own unreliable people [or informants]," Habibullah says. "For the past 25 years, we have been at war and we have a lot of rivalries and enemies here. And [the foreign troops] became part of it by relying only on one source. If these Americans had acted on the advice of our district administrator, the police chief, or the tribal elders, then they would have rebuilt Afghanistan by now."
Government Demands Progress
Civilian deaths in NATO's military operations targeting Taliban militants often lead to tensions between the international forces and their Afghan allies, and they contribute to a general hostility toward foreign troops. Westerners are also accused of ignoring the tribal, linguistic, and regional complexities of Afghanistan.
Helmand's soaring drug production, a roaring Taliban insurgency, and civilian casualties from NATO's aerial bombing have led to fissures between President Hamid Karzai's administration and NATO.
Many Helmand districts have changed hands between ISAF and the Taliban in the past year.
In a late-August speech, Karzai blasted the international community for its actions in Helmand.
President Karzai wants better coordination (RFE/RL file photo)