Taliban kill 26 government militiamen as talks enter crucial stage

[rooster59]

Taliban kill 26 government militiamen as talks enter crucial stage

By Rupam Jain and Abdul Qadir Sediqi

 

FILE PHOTO: Members of the Afghan local militia force watch over the Kunar River Valley from Observation Post Mustang in Afghanistan's Kunar Province June 5, 2012. REUTERS/Tim Wimborne/File Photo

 

KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban militants killed at least 26 members of a pro-government militia in north Afghanistan on Saturday, officials said, as the Islamists and U.S. negotiators were set to begin a seventh round of peace talks in Qatar.

 

One U.S. official said the meeting was a "make-or-break moment" in efforts to end the 18-year-old war.

 

The talks will be led by Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. peace envoy for Afghanistan, who has held six rounds of talks with the Taliban in Doha since October.

 

The efforts to find peace have so far not lessened the fighting between the Taliban and government forces.

 

In the early hours of Saturday, insurgents stormed security posts in the northerly province of Baghlan.

 

A provincial police spokesman said 26 militiamen had been killed. A senior Defence Ministry official in Kabul said the attack indicated that the Taliban wanted to negotiate from a position of strength.

 

Taliban officials said their fighters had killed 28 militiamen and wounded 12. Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said there was no connection between military action and peace talks: "We will continue to fight against the foreign and Afghan forces until a peace deal is signed."

 

About 20,000 foreign troops, most of them American, are in Afghanistan as part of a U.S.-led NATO mission to train and assist Afghan forces. Some U.S. forces carry out counter-terrorism operations.

 

The focus of the peace talks has been a Taliban demand that foreign forces leave and a U.S. demand for a guarantee that Afghanistan will not be used as a base for attacks elsewhere.

 

Two other main issues are a ceasefire and talks between the insurgents and the Western-backed government, which the Taliban denounce as a "puppet".

 

A senior U.S. official, who declined to be identified as he is not authorised to speak to media, said before the latest violence was reported that there was "a genuine sense of expectation on both sides ... It's a make-or-break moment."

 

DRAFT AGREEMENT

 

A Taliban leader in Qatar, who also declined to be identified, said the talks would be crucial.

 

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on a trip to Kabul this week that the United States was close to finishing a draft agreement with the militants on counter-terrorism assurances, and he hoped a peace pact could be reached by Sept. 1.

 

The Taliban control or are contesting control of half of Afghanistan, more than at any time since they were ousted by U.S.-led forces in late 2001.

 

Afghanistan is due to hold a presidential election this year but the militants dismiss the process and instead want to form an interim government - something that President Ashraf Ghani and opposition political parties reject.

 

Hours before the talks were due to start, Ghani decreed the formation of a ministry for peace to push for direct talks with the Taliban, to be headed by his top aide, Abdul Salam Rahimi, Ghani's spokesman said.

 

Some Afghan officials fear the war-weary United States and the Taliban will strike a deal that allows Washington to end its involvement, leaving government forces to battle on alone.

 

The militia members killed on Saturday were among thousands of locally recruited men who are brought in to hold areas recaptured from the militants, freeing the army for new operations.

 

On Friday, the Defence Ministry said a senior Taliban governor had been killed in an air strike in the easterly province of Logar, and a militant commander had been killed in clashes with Afghan security forces in Balkh province in the north. The Taliban dismissed the reports as propaganda.

 

(Additional reporting by Jibran Ahmed in Peshawar; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-06-30

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[legend49]

and U.S. negotiators were set to begin a seventh round of peace talks in Qatar.

 

Is Donald negotiating in this journey?

Edited June 30, 2019 by Scott

[Krataiboy]

 

The Taliban control or are contesting control of half of Afghanistan, more than at any time since they were ousted by U.S.-led forces in late 2001.

 

Yet another humiliation - arguably greater than the Vietnam fiasco - for the world's greatest military superpower.

 

And another dollop of unwelcome humble pie for President Trump, already chewing on the failure to topple the Syrian leadership, bring the North Koreans to heel or intimidate the Iranian ayatollahs.

 

With the odds lengthening against the flamboyant Republican being returned to the White House for another term, perhaps he should consider wooing war-weary American voters by giving peace a chance.

 

Getting the boys and girls back from Afghanistan quickly would undoubtedly win him  some much- needed brownie points. But he needs to do more, much more. 

 

So, Mr President, how about calling a halt to the seemingly endless, counter-productive War on Terror? Or rethinking of the "full spectrum dominance" strategy which requires the US to maimntain 800 overseas bases costing over $150 billion a year?

 

Imagine Donald Trump going down in history as the only US President smart enough to realise you can't deliver democracy at the point of a gun!

 

[DaddyWarbucks]

14 hours ago, Krataiboy said:

 

The Taliban control or are contesting control of half of Afghanistan, more than at any time since they were ousted by U.S.-led forces in late 2001.

 

Yet another humiliation - arguably greater than the Vietnam fiasco - for the world's greatest military superpower.

 

And another dollop of unwelcome humble pie for President Trump, already chewing on the failure to topple the Syrian leadership, bring the North Koreans to heel or intimidate the Iranian ayatollahs.

 

With the odds lengthening against the flamboyant Republican being returned to the White House for another term, perhaps he should consider wooing war-weary American voters by giving peace a chance.

 

Getting the boys and girls back from Afghanistan quickly would undoubtedly win him  some much- needed brownie points. But he needs to do more, much more. 

 

So, Mr President, how about calling a halt to the seemingly endless, counter-productive War on Terror? Or rethinking of the "full spectrum dominance" strategy which requires the US to maimntain 800 overseas bases costing over $150 billion a year?

 

Imagine Donald Trump going down in history as the only US President smart enough to realise you can't deliver democracy at the point of a gun!

Well said.

The US should have been out of Afghanistan long ago.

This dirty war has been prolonged by people who profit from it.

Hopefully Trump will declare victory and leave. Let the armed factions fight it out among themselves and kill each other off.

[OneMoreFarang]

Didn't the USA invade that country about 20 years ago and stayed there until now to bring peace to them? 

[Brigand]

Everyone is deluded ... these nutjobs will settle for nothing other than Sharia loony land ... only fools think Islamic countries can be democratic, give me a break. It's high time that we pulled out of everywhere and sanction them for not being reciprocal on everything. If western countries weren't run by fools, the we could squeeze them with "treat us as we can treat you" and your citizens get the same as ours do when they visit you or don't come ... it's long overdue.

Edited June 30, 2019 by Brigand