Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
WORLD The Afghan Taliban announced a three-day ceasefire at the end of Ramadan.
Moratorium coincides with end of Ramadan
KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghan Taliban announced a three-day cease-fire over the Eid al-Fitr holiday at the end of the holy month of Ramadan, a first for the group, following an earlier cease-fire announcement by the government.
A statement released Saturday by the Taliban said that they would defend themselves in case of any attack. Foreign forces are excluded from the cease-fire and operations would continue against them.
The statement added that the leadership may also consider releasing prisoners of war, if they promise not to return to the battlefield.
Mohammad Haroon Chakhansuri, spokesman for the Afghan president, welcomed the cease-fire.
“We hope that (the Taliban) will be committed to implementing their announcement of the cease-fire,” he said. “The Afghan government will take all steps needed to make sure that there is no bloodshed in Afghanistan.”
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday announced a weeklong cease-fire with the Taliban to coincide with the holiday.
The palace statement referred to a gathering of Afghanistan’s top clerics last week in which they issued a decree against suicide attacks and called for peace talks. A suicide bomber struck just outside the gathering as it was dispersing, killing at least seven and wounding 20 in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group. The Taliban has denounced the gathering, insisting that its jihad, or holy war, against foreign invaders was justified.
NATO has led international security efforts in Afghanistan since 2003. It wound down its combat mission in 2014 but its Resolute Support mission comprises almost 16,000 troops from around 40 countries.
The conflict has been at a stalemate for several years, and NATO’s best chances of leaving lie in the Taliban agreeing to peace talks and eventually joining the government.
On Friday, senior U.S. officials said they will intensify combat against the Islamic State affiliate in the country during the Kabul government’s temporary halt to attacks on the Taliban.