End of the truce in Afghanistan: fighting resumes in the South
The Afghan army en route to Helmand, Thursday August 10, 2016. (Illustration) REUTERS / Abdul Malik
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The day after the truce decreed for the Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Fitr which marks the end of Ramadan, fighting resumed this Sunday, May 16 between the Taliban and government forces in southern Afghanistan.
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“
The Taliban and government forces clashed when the ceasefire ended,
” said Attaullah Afghan, head of the Helmand Provincial Council.
The day after the three-day truce decided to celebrate the end of Ramadan, fighting resumed in southern
Afghanistan
.
Clashes were reported on the outskirts of Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province, an army spokesperson and local official said.
This area has already been the scene of intense fighting since May 1, when the United States was supposed to have withdrawn its 2,500 soldiers
still present there.
The EI group claims responsibility for the attack on the mosque
According to Attaulah Afghan, the Taliban attacked several checkpoints around the provincial capital and in other districts.
"
They
[the Afghan forces, Editor's note]
are at the origin of the operations,
" however said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid before adding: "
Do not attribute the responsibility to us.
"
The three-day ceasefire was generally respected by both sides.
But the fragile lull was interrupted by the explosion on Friday
of a bomb in a mosque on the outskirts of Kabul
in which 12 worshipers, including the local imam, died.
An explosion for which the Taliban denies any responsibility and which has been claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group, according to the American agency SITE, which specializes in monitoring the online activity of jihadist groups.
(With
AFP
)
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