Afghanistan: The Taliban have stepped up their campaign to defeat the U.S.-backed government since April as foreign forces complete their withdrawal after 20 years of war. More than 1,000 civilians were killed in the past month during a Taliban offensive.
The United Nations (UN) special envoy for Afghanistan questioned on Friday, August 6 the Taliban’s commitment to a political settlement, telling the United Nations Security Council that the war had entered a ” deadlier and more destructive phase “with more than 1,000 civilians killed in the last month in a Taliban offensive. “A party that is truly committed to a negotiated settlement would not risk so many civilian casualties because it would understand that the reconciliation process will be more difficult, the more blood will flow,” said Deborah Lyons.
The Taliban have stepped up their campaign to defeat the US-backed government since April as foreign forces complete their withdrawal after 20 years of war. The Taliban seized an Afghan provincial capital and assassinated the top government media office in Kabul on Friday. “It’s a different kind of war now, reminiscent of Syria, recently, or Sarajevo, in the not-so-distant past,” Lyons said.
“To attack urban areas is to knowingly inflict enormous damage and cause massive civilian casualties. Nonetheless, the threat of large urban areas appears to be a strategic move by the Taliban, who have accepted the likely carnage that will ensue,” he said. she declared. Peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban negotiators began last year in the Qatari capital of Doha but made no substantial progress. US diplomat Jeffrey DeLaurentis urged the Taliban to stop their offensive, seek a political settlement and protect Afghan infrastructure and people.
“The Taliban must hear from the international community that we will not accept a military takeover of Afghanistan or a return of the Islamic emirate from the Taliban,” he said. Afghan Ambassador to the UN Ghulam Isaczai urged the Security Council to act to “prevent a catastrophic situation”. “We are alarmed by reports and incidents of gross human rights violations by the Taliban and their foreign terrorist associates in nearly half of our country and we are extremely concerned for the safety and security of residents of the cities under attack. by the Taliban, ”he said. Isaczai accused the Taliban of fighting “to make our country again a safe haven from transnational terrorism.”
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