A member of Afghan Special Forces sits on the rooftop of his humvee as he arrives at the base after heavy clashes with Taliban during the rescue mission of a policeman besieged at a check post, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, July 13, 2021. (REUTERS/Da
Kabul: Taliban proposed to the Afghan government a conditional ceasefire between the two sides for a period of three months.
Afghan government negotiator Nader Nadery said in statements on Thursday that Taliban had proposed a three-month ceasefire with Kabul government in exchange for the release of about seven thousand of its fighters detained in government prisons, and the removal of the names of leaders in the movement from the black list of the United Nations. Nadery described the condition as high demand.
Meanwhile, five civilians were killed and 12 others were wounded when a mortar shell fired by militants fell on a residential area in Laghman province, eastern Afghanistan.
The provincial government announced, in a statement on Thursday, that Taliban militants fired the shell late last night, hitting a residential area in Khalilabad village, killing five civilians and wounding 12 others.
These developments come at a time when the Pakistani authorities closed their part of the Spin Boldak crossing near the province of Balochistan, after the scope of battles expanded in Afghanistan, and hundreds of citizens attempted to cross the border by force in the hope of crossing into Pakistan.
The conflict in Afghanistan between Kabul government and Taliban has witnessed a great development in recent weeks, especially since the beginning of the withdrawal of US and NATO forces from the country.
