A week-long, partial truce yesterday went into effect across Afghanistan, with jubilant civilians celebrating in the streets to mark a potentially historic turning point in the war, even as isolated attacks threatened to undermine the process.
The Taliban, US and Afghan forces have all agreed to a so-called “reduction in violence,” which, if it holds, would be only the second lull in fighting since 2001.
“It is the first morning that I go out without the fear of being killed by a bomb or suicide bomber. I hope it continues forever,” Kabul taxi driver Habib Ullah said, while in other parts of the country people danced in the streets.
Photo: AFP
However, in northern Balkh Province, Taliban fighters attacked a district headquarters near the provincial capital of Mazar-i-Sharif, killing two Afghan soldiers, a local official told reporters.
The attack came after midnight, when the partial truce had already kicked in. There were also reports of a separate incident in central Uruzgan Province.
General Scott Miller, who leads US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said that Western forces would continually monitor the “reduction in violence.”
“The objective here is that we reduce violence for Afghanistan and that it doesn’t spike,” Miller told reporters, adding that he was confident of the Taliban’s overall commitment to the process.
The partial truce is expected to set the conditions for Washington and the insurgents to sign a deal that could, ultimately, pull US troops out after more than 18 years and launch war-weary Afghanistan into an uncertain future.
A successful week would show that the Taliban can control its forces and demonstrate good faith ahead of any deal, which both the US and the insurgents have said could be done on Saturday next week in Doha.
It also gives a much-needed respite to civilians, who have long borne the brunt of the bloody war.
The UN’s Afghanistan mission yesterday said that more than 10,000 people had been killed or wounded in the war last year alone.
In southern Kandahar, considered the Taliban heartland, and eastern Nangarhar Province, dozens of Afghans were seen dancing the attan — a traditional Pashtun dance — in the streets in celebration overnight.
Residents in Nangarhar’s capital, Jalalabad, also celebrated by holding an impromptu bicycle race.
Details of how exactly the reduction in violence will work have remained scant.
The US has said that there is an “understanding” for a “significant and nationwide reduction in violence across Afghanistan,” while Afghan security forces are to remain “on active defense status” during the week.
“The Taliban must demonstrate their commitment to a meaningful reduction in violence,” US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said on Twitter. “Should the Taliban reject the path of peace, we remain prepared to defend ourselves and our Afghan partners.”
In Kandahar, one insurgent told reporters that he had received orders to stand down — but another said that he had only been ordered to refrain from attacking major cities and highways.
Any truce comes fraught with danger, and analysts have said that the attempt to stem Afghanistan’s bloodshed is laced with complications and could fail at any time.
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