‘They were all beaten back’
The Pentagon on Wednesday played down the gravity of new Taliban attack in Afghanistan that cast doubts on a four-day old peace deal between the insurgent group and the United States.
Since the signing in Doha on Saturday, the militants have ramped up violence against Afghan forces, ending a partial truce and casting a pall over peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban, due to begin on March 10.
"There were a variety of attacks over the last 24 to 48 hours. And they were all beaten back," said General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the US military.
"What is important, though, for the agreement: we're on day four, this was small, low level attacks, out on checkpoints, etcetera," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Afghanistan's interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi on Wednesday detailed 30 attacks by the Taliban in 15 provinces over the previous 24 hours that left four civilians and 11 Afghan soldiers, dead, as well as 17 insurgents.
But Milley said "the Taliban have signed up to a whole series of conditions," and he noted what has not occurred despite the latest violence.
"Of significance: there are no attacks on 34 provincial capitals, there are no attacks in Kabul. There's no high profile attacks, there's no suicide bombers, there's no vehicle-borne suicide, no attack against the US forces, no attack against the coalition," Milley said.
"There's a whole laundry list of these things that aren't happening," he added.
Meanwhile, the head of Nato warned yesterday that western forces will only leave Afghanistan if the Taliban make good on their commitment to reduce bloodshed, as attacks surge.
The militants have ramped up violence against Afghan forces since signing a deal with Washington at the weekend, casting doubt over peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban, due to begin on March 10.
Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told AFP that a "long and hard" road to peace lay ahead but warned the Taliban that if they reneged on the agreement, foreign forces would not leave.
"It is a very difficult situation and Taliban must honour their commitment. We need to see reduction in violence," Stoltenberg told AFP in an interview in Zagreb, where he attended a meeting of EU defence ministers.
Comments