The US military withdrawal from Afghanistan is considerably ahead of schedule, an official told reporters on Wednesday, as US President Donald Trump reiterated calls for the Pentagon to bring troops home.
The developments came as questions loomed over the next phase of Afghanistan’s long war following a three-day ceasefire that led to a major drop in civilian casualties.
The truce, which the Taliban called to mark the Muslim celebration of Eid al-Fitr, ended on Tuesday.
According to Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission, civilian casualties fell by 80 percent during the ceasefire.
Violence levels remained low even after the end of the ceasefire, but Afghan security forces conducted airstrikes in the south that killed 18 “militants,” police said.
According to a deal the US signed with the Taliban in February, the Pentagon was to bring troop levels down from about 12,000 to 8,600 by the middle of July, before withdrawing all forces by May next year.
However, a senior US defense official said that the troop number was already at approximately 8,500, as commanders accelerate the withdrawal over fears of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The drawdown was accelerated due to COVID-19 precautions,” the official told reporters, adding that the departure of anyone with health concerns or over a certain age was being prioritized.
Trump on Tuesday told reporters that the US force level was “down to 7,000-some-odd soldiers right now.”
The next day he said that the US should not be acting as a “police force” in Afghanistan.
“After 19 years, it is time for them to police their own Country,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Bring our soldiers back home but closely watch what is going on and strike with a thunder like never before, if necessary!”
Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Campbell said in a statement that the US was adhering to its agreement with the Taliban.
Further drawdowns would come “after the US government assesses the security environment and the Taliban’s compliance with the agreement,” he said.
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