The Taliban says it is going to resume fighting Afghan security forces, throwing another wrench into US plans for peace

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The Taliban says it is going to resume fighting Afghan security forces, throwing another wrench into US plans for peace
Afghan Taliban fighters

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Afghan Taliban fighters

  • The Taliban has decided to resume offensive operations against Afghan security forces, Taliban spokesman told AFP Monday.
  • The decision, which follows a hopeful call from the Afghan president for a sustained cessation of hostilities, comes as the Afghan government bicker over a prisoner exchange provision in the conditional peace deal the Trump administration and the Taliban signed Saturday.
  • The Afghan government is currently refusing to release prisoners before negotiations, and the Taliban is saying there can be no intra-Afghan dialogue without an exchange of prisoners.
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Just two days after the US and the Taliban signed an agreement intended to bring peace to Afghanistan and facilitate the withdrawal of US troops, the Taliban is saying that it is resuming offensive operations against the Afghan security forces, throwing a wrench into the peace deal.

"The reduction in violence... has ended now and our operations will continue as normal," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP Monday, referring to the seven-day reduction in violence that preceded the US-Taliban deal signed Saturday in Doha, Qatar.

"As per the (US-Taliban) agreement, our mujahideen will not attack foreign forces but our operations will continue against the Kabul administration forces," the Taliban spokesman added.

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The Taliban announcement that the militant group intends to continue its operations against the Afghan security forces comes just one day after President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani said that he expects the "reduction in violence will continue with a goal to reach a full ceasefire."

It was unclear Monday what effect a failed truce will have on the US-Taliban agreement, already in question as the Afghan government and Taliban bicker over the deal's prisoner exchange provision.

The agreement signed Saturday states that the "United States is committed to start immediately to work with all relevant sides on a plan to expeditiously release combat and political prisoners as a confidence building measure with the coordination and approval of all relevant sides."

The prisoner exchange, which would involve approximately 5,000 captured Taliban fighters and 1,000 Afghan security force prisoners, is scheduled to take place on March 10, the first day of intra-Afghan negotiations.

"The Afghan [government] has not made any commitment to release 5K prisoners before the start of any potential negotiation," Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for the Afghan government, said Monday, adding that the Taliban needs to address significant issues, including the need for a ceasefire, first.

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"We hope that the Taliban will comply with their commitments made in the agreement with the US signed on 29th Feb, which are cutting ties with al-Qaida, and other terrorists, and sit down with the Afghan government for a negotiation leading to a political settlement," he added.

The Taliban has said that it will not take part in intra-Afghan talks until its captured fighters have been released. "We are fully ready for the intra-Afghan talks, but we are waiting for the release of our 5,000 prisoners," Mujahid told Reuters. "If our 5,000 prisoners ... do not get released there will be no intra-Afghan talks."

Commenting on the end of the truce, the Taliban spokesman told Reuters: "As we are receiving reports that people are enjoying the reduction in violence, we don't want to spoil their happiness, but it does not mean that we will not take our normal military activities back to the level that we were before."

"It could be any time, it could be after an hour, tonight, tomorrow or the day after," he added.

As the US and the Taliban signed their agreement Saturday, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper expressed cautious optimism, saying, "This is a hopeful moment, but it is only the beginning."

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"For the first time in many years, Afghanistan has a real path toward the future this country deserves. We look forward to the coming weeks and months with great optimism, as we advance these important efforts to finally achieve peace."

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