US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad. Photo: AFP
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https://scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3025266/taliban-launches-another-attack-afghanistan-us-envoy-zalmay Middle East
Taliban launches another attack in Afghanistan as US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad says peace deal is near
- The attack on the capital of Baghlan province came hours after US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad said he warned the Taliban during talks that ‘violence like this must stop’
- The attacks are seen as strengthening the negotiating position of the Taliban, who control or hold sway over roughly half of Afghanistan
Afghan national army soldiers take part in an operation against Taliban militants in Kunduz city, Afghanistan. Photo: Xinhua
The Taliban on Sunday attacked a second city in Afghanistan in as many days and killed several members of security forces, officials said.
The attack on the capital of Baghlan province came hours after US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad said he warned the Taliban during talks in Qatar that “violence like this must stop”.
But he appeared determined to move forward on a peace deal that plans the withdrawal of some 14,000 remaining US troops in exchange for Taliban guarantees that Afghanistan will not be used as a launch pad for global attacks.
Khalilzad was visiting Kabul on Sunday to brief the Afghan government on a deal that is not yet final. Both he and the Taliban confirmed the latest round of talks had ended.
The attacks are seen as strengthening the negotiating position of the Taliban, who control or hold sway over roughly half of Afghanistan and are at their strongest since their 2001 defeat by a US-led invasion. Some critics warn that the Taliban are merely waiting out the US and that another US goal in the talks, a ceasefire, likely will not happen as foreign troops leave.
In Baghlan the spokesman for the provincial police chief, Jawed Basharat, said gunbattles continued on the outskirts of its capital, Puli Khumri. The interior ministry said four civilians and two members of the security forces were killed, and 20 civilians and two security forces wounded. It said three Taliban fighters had also been killed.
Provincial council member Mabobullah Ghafari said he had seen the bodies of at least six members of the security forces and that the situation was worsening by the hour. If reinforcements do not arrive from the central government the city could fall, he said.
“People are fleeing their houses and properties trying to escape from the city,” Ghafari said, adding that the Taliban had occupied some checkpoints with no resistance from security forces.
“We hear the sound of blasts. The people are so worried,” said the provincial council chief, Safdar Mohsini. “The Taliban are in residential areas fighting with Afghan security forces. We need reinforcements to arrive as soon as possible.”
If the Taliban enter the city, they will be very difficult to repel, Mohsini added. The city of more than 220,000 people is about 230km (140 miles) north of Kabul.
US soldiers salute during a flag-lowering ceremony at Bagram Air Base, the largest US military base in Afghanistan. Photo: AFP
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in a Twitter post asserted that fighters were inside Puli Khumri and that the governor’s house was under siege.
The assault came a day after the Taliban attacked Kunduz, one of Afghanistan’s largest cities, in the province to the north and killed at least 25 people and wounded 85. The interior ministry on Sunday said the Taliban had been cleared from that city but some fighters had fled to Baghlan.
Few details have emerged from this latest round of peace talks. The Taliban spokesman in Qatar, Suhail Shaheen, said technical issues would be discussed on Sunday. “We are on the verge of ending the invasion and reaching a peaceful solution for Afghanistan,” he said.