Afghanistan - The African Mirror

Jul

2021

Foreign missions in Afghanistan call for Taliban ceasefire

FIFTEEN diplomatic missions and the NATO representative in Afghanistan have urged the Taliban to halt their military offensives, just hours after the insurgents and the Afghan government failed to agree on a ceasefire at talks in Doha. A delegation of Afghan leaders met the Taliban's political leadership in the Qatari capital over the weekend. But in a statement late on Sunday, the Taliban made no mention of a halt to Afghanistan's escalating violence. "This Eid al-Adha, the Taliban should lay down their weapons for good and show the world their commitment to the peace process," the 15 missions and the…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Afghanistan withdraws ambassador, diplomats from Islamabad

WORLD

AFGHANISTAN has withdrawn its ambassador and diplomats from Pakistan's capital following the kidnapping of the ambassador's daughter, the Afghan foreign ministry said has announced, a new blow to relations at a sensitive time for the Afghan peace process. The daughter of Afghanistan's ambassador to Pakistan was seized on Friday and held for several hours by unknown assailants who left her with injuries and rope marks and Pakistan authorities have said they are investigating. "The Afghan government recalled the ambassador and senior diplomats to Kabul until the complete elimination of the security threats, including the arrest and punishment of the perpetrators,"…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Taliban surround central Afghan city of Ghazni

WORLD

TALIBAN fighters have surrounded the city of Ghazni in central Afghanistan, taking over civilians' homes to fight security forces, officials have said, the latest urban centre under threat from the insurgents. The offensive was the latest on a provincial capital as the Taliban make a fresh push to surround cities and gain territory, emboldened by the departure of foreign forces. "The situation in Ghazni city is very critical...the Taliban use civilian houses as hideouts and fire upon the ANDSF (Afghan security forces), this makes the situation very difficult for the ANDSF to operate against the Taliban," said Hassan Rezayi, a…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

India pulls officials from Afghanistan’s Kandahar as Taliban widens control

WORLD

INDIA has temporarily brought back officials from its consulate in Kandahar, a major city in southern Afghanistan, as Taliban fighters continue to gain control amid the withdrawal of international forces. "Due to the intense fighting near Kandahar city, India-based personnel have been brought back for the time being," Arindam Bagchi, chief spokesperson at India's foreign ministry, said in a statement. "India is closely monitoring the evolving security situation in Afghanistan," Bagchi said, adding that India's consulate in Kandahar was being run by local staff temporarily. Taliban officials said on Friday the Sunni Muslim insurgent group had taken control of 85%…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Taliban say they control 85% of Afghanistan, humanitarian concerns mount

WORLD

TALIBAN officials have claimed that the Sunni Muslim insurgent group had taken control of 85% of territory in Afghanistan, and international concern mounted over problems getting medicines and supplies into the country. Afghan government officials dismissed the assertion that the Taliban controlled most of the country as part of a propaganda campaign launched as foreign forces, including the United States, withdrew after almost 20 years of fighting. But local Afghan officials said Taliban fighters, emboldened by the withdrawal, had captured an important district in Herat province, home to tens of thousands of minority Shi'ite Hazaras. Torghundi, a northern town on…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Era ends, war looms as U.S. forces quit main base in Afghanistan

WORLD

AMERICAN troops pulled out of their main military base in Afghanistan yesterday, leaving behind a piece of the World Trade Center they buried 20 years ago in a country that the top U.S. commander has warned may descend into civil war without them. "All American soldiers and members of NATO forces have left the Bagram airbase," said a senior U.S. security official on condition of anonymity. Though a few more troops have yet to withdraw from another base in the capital Kabul, the Bagram pullout brings an effective end to the longest war in American history. The base, an hour's…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Safe in Germany, Afghan translators fears for colleagues left behind

WORLD

ALEXANDER RATZ ALI, a former translator for the Bundeswehr in Afghanistan, still lives in fear of the Taliban, seven years after coming to Germany under a protection scheme for military's civilian employees. The 29-year-old, who would not give his full name for fear of militant reprisals, is even more concerned about the fate of his former colleagues still at home. "In Afghanistan, it doesn't matter what you do, if you are with NATO soldiers, then you are in danger," Ali told Reuters in Berlin. As NATO wraps up its mission in Afghanistan after two decades, it leaves behind tens of…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

U.S. ends its longest war: Some Afghans not happy

WORLD

MANY Afghans believe that the United States is putting them at the mercy of hardline Islamist Taliban insurgents after President Joe Biden's announcement that U.S. troops will leave the country by September 11. The withdrawal date was pushed back four months from the May 1 deadline agreed to between the Washington and the insurgents last year - but, this time, there have been no conditions attached to the pullout. "International forces' intervention was like a light in a dark night," Amina, 32, a teacher at a girls school in the northern province of Kunduz, told Reuters. Amina, who was a…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

EXCLUSIVE – Foreign troops to stay in Afghanistan beyond May deadline

WORLD

RUPAM JAIN and CHARLOTTE GREENFIELD INTERNATIONAL troops plan to stay in Afghanistan beyond the May deadline envisaged by the insurgent Taliban's deal with the United States, four senior NATO officials said, a move that could escalate tensions with the Taliban demanding full withdrawal. "There will be no full withdrawal by allies by April-end," one of the officials told Reuters. "Conditions have not been met," he said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. "And with the new U.S. administration, there will be tweaks in the policy, the sense of hasty withdrawal which was prevalent will be…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Afghanistan conference to set aid cuts, conditions amid war, pandemic

WORLD

AFGHANISTAN faces funding cuts and tighter restrictions on vital aid from an international donor conference this week, marking further challenges for a nation torn by two decades of war and now ravaged by COVID-19. Ministers from about 70 countries and officials of humanitarian organisations, at the virtual conference hosted in Geneva on Monday and Tuesday, are expected to pledge billions of dollars to safeguard development projects, with talks between the Afghan government and Taliban rebels stalled and President Trump sharply reducing U.S. forces in the country. Although the fragile economy depends heavily on foreign aid, Kabul will see cuts in…