Afghanistan: Taliban announce cease-fire for Eid al-Fitr

A truce in Afghanistan. The Taliban unilaterally announced a three-day ceasefire on Saturday, May 23, on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of Ramadan which is due to start on Sunday, after they had intensified their offensives against Afghan forces since March.

The insurgent leadership orders its fighters to "take special measures for the safety of their compatriots, and not to launch offensive operations against the enemy", but they will be able to defend themselves if attacked, perhaps we read in a Taliban press release sent by one of their spokespersons.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani accepted their offer soon after ordering his troops to abide by the terms.

"As commander-in-chief, I told the ANDSF (the national defense and security forces) to respect this three-day truce and to defend yourself only in the event of an attack," said tweeted Ashraf Ghani, who "welcomed" the announcement by the Taliban.

I welcome the ceasefire announcement by the Taliban. The Afghan government extends the offer of peace. As Commander in Chief I have instructed ANDSF to comply with the three-days truce and to defend only if attacked. Further details will be given in my speech tomorrow morning.

First call for Taliban ceasefire

It is the first time that the Taliban have called themselves to lay down their arms since an international coalition led by the United States ousted them from power in late 2001. In late April, they rejected a ceasefire offer the fire of President Ashraf Ghani on the occasion of Ramadan, which they had described as "not rational or convincing".

The Taliban intensified their attacks on the Afghan security forces just after signing an agreement with the United States at the end of February in Doha to withdraw foreign troops from Afghanistan within 14 months in exchange for security consideration. They have carried out more than 3,800 attacks since March, killing 420 civilians and injuring 906 others, according to Afghan authorities on Monday.

The UN assistance mission in Afghanistan (Manua), in a report released on Tuesday, identified 208 civilians killed in April by the rebels, a figure up 25% compared to April 2019.

Ashraf Ghani, who has been asking for ceasefire requests for years, had come to a three-day cessation of fighting in June 2018 on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr. Surprising scenes of fraternization between Taliban fighters and members of the Afghan security forces had then occurred, the two camps hugging and taking pictures.

The Taliban also respected a nine-day partial truce from February 22 to March 2 on the signing of the Doha agreement with the Americans.

With AFP

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