Afghan govt releases 80 of final 400 Taliban prisoners
The Afghan government has begun releasing the last Taliban prisoners from a final batch of 400 who the militants want freed before they agree to start peace negotiations, a security agency spokesman said yesterday. The government agreed on Sunday to release the 400 "hard-core" prisoners after consulting a grand assembly of elders and other community leaders, known as a Loya Jirga. He did not say when the remaining 320 would be set free. Disagreement over the release of the prisoners, who include some of those accused in connection with some of Afghanistan's bloodiest attacks, has delayed negotiations for months as the United States withdraws troops under a deal signed with the Taliban in February.
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