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20:42, 17-Jun-2018
Taliban not to extend ceasefire with the Afghan government
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Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Sunday that the Taliban would not extend their three-day ceasefire with the Afghan government and fighting would resume, reported AFP.
The ceasefire began on Friday in honor of Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday marking the end of Ramadan. It was the first ceasefire in 17 years, since the United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001.
The Taliban's announcement came one day after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced that his government's ceasefire with the Taliban would be extended another day.
People celebrate ceasefire in Rodat district of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, June 16, 2018. /VCG Photo
People celebrate ceasefire in Rodat district of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, June 16, 2018. /VCG Photo
The president has also asked the Taliban to extend their three-day ceasefire.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, echoing Ghani's announcement on Saturday, said peace talks would have to include a discussion on the role of "international actors and forces."
A suicide bombing in Jalalabad, close to the governor's office in Nangarhar province, killed at least 18 people on Sunday and wounded scores, an official and doctor said.
No group immediately claimed responsibility.
A car bomb killed 36 people at a gathering of Taliban and Afghan armed forces in the same province on Saturday. ISIL, not covered by the government ceasefire, claimed responsibility for that attack.
A Taliban member (C) celebrates ceasefire with people in Rodat district of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, June 16, 2018. /VCG Photo
A Taliban member (C) celebrates ceasefire with people in Rodat district of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, June 16, 2018. /VCG Photo
Over the weekend, ecstatic men and children crowded around the soldiers and Taliban fighters, some of whom had checked in their weapons at the entrances to cities, and urged them to turn their ceasefire into a permanent peace.
Governors and senior government officials hosted small feasts, played music to welcome the militants, coinciding with the close of the month-long Ramadan fasting season.
"There is no intention to extend the ceasefire," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters. "...Our normal operations will start tomorrow (Monday).”
Ghani's office has yet to declare a new timeframe for the extended government ceasefire.
(Top image: Taliban members walk as they celebrate ceasefire in Ghanikhel district of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, June 16, 2018. /VCG Photo)
Source(s): Reuters