Afghan ceasefire ends due to new negotiations with the Taliban | Business Wire News

Afghan ceasefire ends due to new negotiations with the Taliban | Business Wire News

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Clashes between Taliban fighters and government forces continued in Helmand Province.

The three-day ceasefire between the Afghan government and the Taliban was marked by violent attacks (ISIS armed groups claimed some violent attacks) ended on Sunday calling for the resumption of peace talks.

An Afghan military spokesman and a local official said fighting resumed on Sunday in the outskirts of Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province in the south.

Attaullah Afghan, chairman of the Helmand Provincial Assembly, told AFP: “The fighting has begun today and continues to this day.”

He said that Taliban militants attacked security checkpoints in the suburbs of Lashkar Gah and other areas.

A spokesman for the Afghan Army in the south confirmed that the fighting had resumed.

The Taliban have launched an armed rebellion since they were dismissed in a military invasion led by the United States in 2001. He accused the Western-backed Kabul government of resuming fighting.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP: “They (Afghan forces) are starting to act… Don’t blame us.”

The armed group continued to attack Afghan forces even after signing a peace agreement with the United States in February 2020. It calls Kabul a “pseudo-regime” in the West.

Short talk

Taliban political spokesman Sohail Shahin said that just one day ago, the negotiating team of the government and armed groups met briefly in Qatar.

He said that on Saturday they reiterated their commitment to seek a peaceful end to the war and called for an early start of deadlocked negotiations.

Since September last year, Kabul and the Taliban have been holding talks in Doha, the capital of Qatar, as part of the United States’ efforts to achieve a lasting peace in this war-torn country.

The United States has been urging to speed up negotiations between Afghan stakeholders because it withdrew the last 2,500 to 3,500 soldiers, while NATO withdrew the remaining 7,000 allied forces.

Although the Taliban and the government signed a ceasefire agreement and declared a ceasefire to commemorate the Islamic Eid al-Fitr, violence in Afghanistan continues.

A bomb attack on a mosque in the north of the capital on Friday killed 12 worshippers, including prayer leaders. Another 15 people were injured.

According to the SITE intelligence team that monitors the armed group, the Taliban denies that this is the man behind ISIL’s alleged attack. Al Jazeera was unable to independently verify the ISIL claims reported by SITE.

in the darkness

ISIL also claimed that it blew up several electronic websites over the weekend. During the three-day holiday following the Muslim fasting month, Kabul was left in darkness for most of the time.

In a post on its affiliated website, ISIL claimed that other attacks had taken place in the past two weeks, destroying 13 electronic websites in several provinces. These power stations import electricity from Central Asian countries in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

Government spokesman Sanger Niadze said that the attack disrupted the power supply in nine provinces including Kabul.

It is also worrying that the local armed leaders have asked the government to provide protection funds to protect gas stations in areas under their control, which may have caused some of the damage.

Last year, at least one local armed leader was arrested after asking for protection money.

The seemingly unstoppable violence in Afghanistan has caused residents and regional countries to worry that the eventual withdrawal of US and NATO soldiers may lead to further chaos.

US President Joe Biden announced last month that he would withdraw American soldiers from Afghanistan by September 11 at the latest.

On Saturday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed concern about the rapid withdrawal of US and NATO forces in a phone call with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmoud Qureshi.

Wang said that the call to retreat hastily, and warned that this will “seriously” affect the peace process in Afghanistan and adversely affect regional stability. He called on the United Nations to play a greater role.





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