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Friday, January 29, 2021, 10:22
Pentagon warns Taliban on failure to meet commitments
By Agencies
Friday, January 29, 2021, 10:22 By Agencies

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby speaks during a media briefing at the Pentagon, Jan 28, 2021, in Washington. (PHOTO / AP)

WASHINGTON / KABUL - The Biden administration believes it is hard to see a way forward for a negotiated settlement with the Taliban unless the militant group meets its commitments under a 2020 deal, although Washington remains committed to the effort, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

Also on Thursday, the government of Afghanistan once again called upon the Taliban group to observe cease-fire and reduce violence as more than 80 combatants with majority of them militants were killed over the past 24 hours in the insurgency-battered country, officials said.

Killings of civilians in Afghanistan’s conflict rose to more than 2,900 last year, the country’s human rights commission has said, despite stepped-up diplomacy to end the war including peace talks taking place in Qatar.

The deaths are part of a wider increase in violence that threatens a delicate peace process, undermining international calls for a ceasefire as the Afghan government takes part in peace negotiations with the Taliban.

The United States went down to 2,500 troops in Afghanistan earlier this month under the then-outgoing Trump administration, the lowest level of American forces there since 2001

ALSO READ: US vow of early Afghan exit raises threat of resurgent Taliban

“Without them meeting their commitments to renounce terrorism and to stop the violent attacks on the Afghan National Security Forces ... it’s very hard to see a specific way forward for the negotiated settlement, but we’re still committed to that,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

The February 2020 agreement with the Taliban calls for a complete US troop withdrawal by May 2021 in return for the insurgents fulfilling security guarantees.

US officials and diplomats have said that ties between the Taliban, especially its Haqqani Network branch, and al Qaeda remain close.

“Thus far, the Taliban has been, to put it politely, reticent to meet their requirements,” Kirby added.

The United States went down to 2,500 troops in Afghanistan earlier this month under the then-outgoing Trump administration, the lowest level of American forces there since 2001.

READ MORE: Taliban call on Biden to honor Trump deal to remove US troops

Kirby said no decision had been made by President Joe Biden’s administration about future troop levels in Afghanistan.

Diplomats have raised concerns that rising violence, particularly by the Taliban, is undermining trust needed for successful peace talks.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told his Afghan counterpart last week that the United States would review the peace agreement reached with the Taliban.

According to an Afghan army statement, 52 militants were killed and 16 others injured in Arghandab, Panjway and Dand districts of the Kandahar province over the past 24 hours, while 18 insurgents died and four others were injured in Nahr-e-Saraj and Nad Ali districts of Helmand province since Wednesday.

Increase in fighting is taking place amid peace talks held in Doha, capital of Qatar, and the government call for a cease-fire in the conflict-stricken country.

The Taliban group, according to local media reports, is reluctant to sit at the negotiating table with Afghan government. According to local media reports, no meeting has been held between the negotiating teams of the Afghan government and the Taliban for the past nine days in Doha.


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