The Afghan government confirmed its participation in two separate peace conferences, one supported by the United States and the other sponsored by Russia, while a car bomb exploded Friday evening in Herat, west of the country.
Afghan National Security Adviser Hamdallah Moheb said today, Saturday, that representatives of the government will participate in a United Nations-led conference scheduled in Turkey proposed by the United States, and in a conference in Moscow on peace in Afghanistan.
Afghan officials said that the Russia-backed peace conference will be held on Thursday, while the other conference sponsored by the United States will be held in Turkey next month.
The Afghan news channel, "Taloo News", quoted Moheb as saying that the Afghan government is forming a delegation for the two conferences.
The spokesman for the Reconciliation Council in Afghanistan, Fereydoun Khawazun, said last week that President Ashraf Ghani, President of the Reconciliation Council, Abdullah Abdullah, and foreign envoys and representatives of the Taliban are expected to participate in the conference hosted by Moscow.
The United States suggested holding a conference in Turkey, in a letter sent by Foreign Minister Anthony Blinken to President Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah.
On Friday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that the UN-led meeting on peace in Afghanistan "is scheduled to be held in Istanbul next April."
It is noteworthy that the United States and the Taliban signed an agreement in Doha early last year to hold talks between the movement and the Afghan government and the withdrawal of foreign forces from the country.
Bloody evening
On the security side, 8 people were killed and at least 47 wounded, most of them women and children, in a car bomb explosion Friday evening near a police station in Herat, western Afghanistan.
A spokesman for Herat's Governor, Gilani Farhad, told AFP that the attack totaled 8 dead and 47 injured, noting that "among the dead were a member of the security forces, and 7 civilians, including two men, two women and 3 children."
He explained that among the wounded, at least 20 women and 8 children, in addition to 8 members of the Afghan forces, also stated that the attack caused damage to dozens of homes and shops.
The Afghan government controls Herat, one of the largest Afghan cities, but the surrounding countryside is witnessing battles between Afghan forces and the Taliban.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement to Agence France-Presse: "There is no involvement (of our fighters) in the bombing of Herat."
Despite the movement’s denials, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani accused it of carrying out the attack, and said, “They continue their unlawful war and violence against our people,” and “once again demonstrated their lack of intention to reach a peaceful settlement of the current crises.”
In parallel, the UN Security Council condemned Friday "in the strongest terms the alarming number of deliberately targeting civilians in Afghanistan."
Council members urged “the negotiating parties to take confidence-building measures, including reducing violence, and to continue engaging in good faith” in the peace process.