The Afghan government said on Saturday that the Taliban fighters have carried out 2,804 attacks since they have signed agreement with the United States in February.
“From the February 29 signing of the peace deal until April 20, Taliban conducted 2,804 terrorist activities across Afghanistan (averaging about 55 a day). The numbers show Taliban doing nothing for peace and everything to continue their campaign of terror against Afghans,” Spokesperson for the Office of the National Security Council Javid Faisal wrote on twitter.
“Taliban killed or wounded 789 civilians during this period (average of 15 a day). In a sign of intensifying Taliban campaign against civilians, last week was the bloodiest since the US-Taliban deal, with Taliban killing 34 and wounding 62 civilians across 17 provinces,” he said.
Faisal claimed that Afghan forces returned Taliban attacks in full measure and killed or wounded 2,737 Taliban, including leaders and commanders, since Feb. 29. In the last week alone, security forces took out 309 and wounded 210 Taliban.
Spike in violence has raised concern across the world as controversy over the prisoner has led to the delay of the proposed talks involving Afghan parties to the conflict which are central to the US-Taliban agreement as Afghan leaders would decide the future political roadmap of Afghanistan.
The NATO and the UN office in Kabul have pressed the Taliban to reduce violence and start intra-Afghan dialogue that will determine the future political roadmap of the war-ravaged country.
The Taliban on Thursday rejected ceasefire appeal by President Ashraf Ghani during the holy month of Ramazan started in Afghanistan on Friday.
Taliban accused the Afghan government of “creating hurdles” for the implementation of the agreement they had signed with the US in February.
Taliban resumed attacks on the Afghan forces after President Ghani refused to release 5000 Taliban prisoners unconditionally.
The Taliban prisoners should have been released until March 10 under the US-Taliban agreement. The Afghan government says it has so far released over 500 Taliban prisoners and nearly 1000 more will be freed in the coming weeks. Taliban have also freed nearly 60 government prisoners.
The US-led NATO said on Friday that the prospect of the start of negotiations to reach a comprehensive peace agreement in Afghanistan represents an historic opportunity to end the decades-long conflict.
“All sides should act to urgently fulfill the commitments they have made to lower violence and work toward peace,” the alliance ambassadors in NATO’s North Atlantic Council said in a statement on the peace efforts.
The statement also urgently called upon Afghanistan’s political leaders and their supporters to come together to resolve their differences and form an inclusive government.
“Afghanistan’s political actors must seize this opportunity for peace,” said the statement amid political crisis after Dr Abdullah Abdullah also declared him as president despite the country’s independent election commission declared Ashraf Ghani as winner of the September presidential election.
Dr Abdullah and Mr Ghani have failed to agree to an inclusive government, however, efforts are underway for a power-sharing administration.
The NATO said the current level of violence caused by the Taliban is not acceptable.
“We call urgently on the Taliban to reduce violence and create the conditions conducive to commence negotiations. NATO further calls on the Taliban to fulfill its commitments to ensure that terrorists never again find safe haven on Afghan soil,” according to the statement.
Taliban have rejected calls for reduction in violence and ceasefire with the Afghan government and say these issues will be discussed during the intra-Afghan dialogue.
The NATO welcomed the establishment of an inclusive negotiating team to represent the Afghan government and called on the Taliban to enter negotiations with this team without further delay, which is considered a key element of the U.S.-Taliban agreement.
Taliban have refused to start the intra Afghan dialogue unless their 5000 prisoners are released.
The NATO statement said it expects these negotiations to lead to an enduring and comprehensive peace agreement that puts an end to violence, safeguards the human rights of all Afghans, including women and children, upholds the rule of law, and ensures that Afghanistan never again serves as a safe haven for terrorists.
“NATO encourages both sides to demonstrate good will by accelerating the release of prisoners, as a confidence building measure and to embrace the international community’s call for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire,” the statement said.
It said the continued spread of the COVID-19 pandemic underscores the urgency of such measures, urging the Taliban to do their part to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among the Afghan people.
Meanwhile, the UN office in Kabul called for ceasefire during Ramazan and said the holy month will “provide an opportunity for all communities in Afghanistan to strengthen their bonds with each other in solidarity.”
“At a time of increased uncertainty, with COVID-19 presenting another deadly challenge for the country and for the world community, I strongly encourage everyone to get behind the Secretary-General’s urgent call for a global ceasefire to silence the guns and enable all Afghans to come together to fight the pandemic,” the UN secretary general’s special representative, Deborah Lyons, said in a statement.
