The Taliban unilaterally announced a three-day ceasefire on Saturday evening on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of Ramadan which is due to begin on Sunday, after they had intensified their offensives against the Afghan forces since March.
The insurgent leadership orders its fighters to "take special measures for the security of their compatriots, and not to launch offensive operations against the enemy", but they can defend themselves if attacked, perhaps we read in a statement from the Taliban sent by one of their spokesmen.
A first from the Taliban
It is the first time that the Taliban has called on itself to lay down 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.
Fraternization scenes
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 rebels, a figure up 25% compared to April 2019. Ashraf Ghani, who multiplies for years, ceasefire requests had brought a three-day cessation of fighting to an end 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.
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