Afghanistan violence rises amid US-Taliban talks: watchdog

Violent attacks in Afghanistan’s war jumped to record levels in the last quarter of 2019, a US government watchdog said yesterday, underscoring the conflict’s continued toll despite a relative calm in Kabul.

The nation’s capital and other urban areas have enjoyed a rare stretch of more than two months without the sorts of large-scale bomb attack that frequently rock the city and cause mass causalities.

Despite the lull, which has come as the US and the Taliban continue talks over a possible deal for American forces to leave Afghanistan, fighting in rural provinces has continued unabated, with reports of skirmishes appearing daily.

According to the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), “enemy-initiated attacks” rose sharply last year, with the fourth quarter seeing a total of 8,204 attacks -- up from 6,974 in the same period in 2018.

September, when the first round of presidential voting was held, saw the highest number of casualty-causing attacks since recording began in 2010.