Peace in jeopardy as Taliban to resume ops against Afghan forces
Kabul: Days after the United States signed a peace agreement with the Afghan Taliban in a bid to end 18 years of conflict, the insurgent group stated Monday it will resume offensive operations against Afghanistan security forces, news agency AFP reported.
The declaration to resume offensive operations will end the partial truce that preceded the signing of a deal between the Afghan Taliban and Washington.
“The reduction in violence… has ended now and our operations will continue as normal,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP. “As per the (US-Taliban) agreement, our mujahideen will not attack foreign forces but our operations will continue against the Kabul administration forces,” he added.
The declaration comes merely a day after Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani stated that he would continue the partial truce at least until talks between Afghan officials and the Taliban commence, which is slated for March 10.
Fawad Aman, deputy spokesman for the defence ministry, said the government was “checking to see if (the truce) had ended, he added.
The Taliban and the United States Saturday signed a peace agreement. As per the joint statement released by the US and Afghan governments, the US and NATO would withdraw all troops in Afghanistan within 14 months if the Taliban upholds its commitments.
Since the signing of the peace accord in Doha on Saturday, the Taliban have been publicly celebrating their ‘victory’ over the US.
The dramatic fall in violence due to last week’s partial truce between the Taliban, US and Afghanistan forces offered Afghans a rare opportunity to go about their daily lives without fear of violence.
President Ghani has warned the insurgents that he is not committed to a key clause in the Doha deal involving the release of thousands of Taliban prisoners. (AFP)
KV Network
