KUNDUZ: At the very least 25 Afghan safety power personnel have been killed in an ambush blamed on the Taliban, officers mentioned on Wednesday, as spiralling violence imperils ongoing peace talks.
The ambush got here regardless of Taliban assurances to Washington final week that they would scale back bloodshed.
Safety forces have been attacked in a single day on Tuesday in Takhar province and preventing was ongoing, mentioned Jawad Hejri, a spokesman for the governor, who put the dying toll up to now at 25.
“The Taliban had taken positions in the houses around the area. They ambushed our forces who were there for an operation against the enemy,” he mentioned.
Takhar provincial well being director Abdul Qayoum mentioned 34 safety personnel had been killed — together with the deputy police chief of the province.
The Taliban didn’t straight take duty, however mentioned their fighters had “engaged the enemy” in Takhar to retaliate in opposition to safety operations carried out in opposition to them.
Regardless of becoming a member of peace talks with the Afghan authorities in Qatar final month, the Taliban have solely elevated violence in Afghanistan in a bid to wield leverage within the negotiations.
A serious assault by the militants in Helmand province pressured 1000’s of households to flee their properties this month, whereas a automotive bomb on Sunday close to the police headquarters in Ghor blamed on the insurgents left 16 individuals lifeless and 154 wounded.
The UN refugee company UNHCR mentioned almost 40,000 individuals had fled in Helmand, and referred to as for assist to assist the displaced.
“Disruptions in telecommunications, the threat of improvised explosive devices and the continued closure of the highway between Kandahar and Helmand following the destruction of several bridges are adding to the challenges,” mentioned Caroline Van Buren, the UNHCR’s consultant to Afghanistan.
Little progress has been made in conferences between Afghan authorities negotiators and the Taliban in Doha for the reason that talks began in September.
“This level of violence, of course, makes the task of negotiating very difficult,” mentioned Nader Naderi, a negotiator for the Afghan authorities.
“Situations like this add to the sense of urgency for a ceasefire.” The highest US envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, mentioned earlier this week that preventing is threatening the peace course of.
“Violence today remains distressingly high in spite of the recent reaffirmation of the need for substantial reduction,” he added.
US affect over Afghanistan’s battlegrounds is on the wane, nonetheless, with the Pentagon seeking to withdraw all its remaining troops by subsequent Might.
With US elections lower than two weeks away, President Donald Trump is making an attempt to make good on his promise to finish America’s longest warfare and pull again troops even sooner.
Printed in Daybreak, October 22nd, 2020
