Amid increasing Taliban attacks and collapse of districts, the US Deputy Chief of Mission in Kabul, Ian J. McCary, called on the Taliban to end the ongoing violence and return to the negotiation table.
Addressing the militants attempt to take over the country by war, he also reiterated that imposition is not acceptable for the world. “The world will not accept the imposition … by force of a government in Afghanistan,” the US State Department Ned Price asserted on June 22.
This comes as the Taliban have increased their attacks for territorial gains as the foreign troops are leaving Afghanistan.
On April 14, the US President Joe Biden announced the timeline for US troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan which was welcomed by other NATO member states. According to the withdrawal plan, all foreign troops will leave Afghanistan by September 11 this year.
Germany completed its full withdrawal from Afghanistan last Tuesday, June 29.
Meanwhile, the Reuters reported yesterday that the US military is just days away from completing its withdrawal from Afghanistan, ahead of the September 11 deadline.
Increasing Taliban attacks
Upon announcement of the US troops’ withdrawal plan, the Taliban welcomed but described it as a violation of the agreement the group signed with the US in Doha on February 29, 2020. As per the agreement, all the foreign troops should have left Afghanistan by May 01, not by September 11.
In reaction to it, the militant group walked away of a high level conference scheduled from April 24 to May 03, in Istanbul. Then, the militants increased their warring campaign across Afghanistan launching deadly attacks against Afghan defense and security forces.
In addition to the Taliban offensives, Afghanistan has seen a dramatic rise in targeted violence which claimed scores of lives, mostly civilians.
Since May 01, beginning of the foreign troops’ withdrawal, the Taliban militants have overrun around 80 districts in different parts of the country.
However, the government forces and local mobilized militias have managed in recent days to recapture few of the fallen districts.
