Kabul: Prisoner Release Depends on Guarantee of Talks
The Afghan government said it would only release Taliban prisoners if there is a guarantee that peace talks with the Taliban will begin, and that it would then free the inmates gradually. The recent U.S.-Taliban deal suggested that Kabul would conduct a mass prisoner release before beginning intra-Afghan talks (TOLO)
Afghan Government Delays Prisoner Release
The Afghan government said it has delayed the release of 1,500 Taliban prisoners in order to guarantee the prisoners would not return to fighting (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Afghan Migrants Return From Iran
Over nineteen thousand Afghan migrants returned to Afghanistan from Iran in the first week of March, more than double the previous week’s numbers. The International Organization for Migration attributed the increase to worksite closures in Iran, which has been hard-hit by the new coronavirus (Voice of America)
Taliban Criticizes Afghan Prisoner Release
The Afghan government ordered the release of 1,500 Taliban prisoners and plans to release 3,500 more once peace talks with the group are underway (TOLO)
A Taliban spokesperson said the release did not comply with a recent deal signed with Washington, which suggested a release of 5,000 prisoners before such talks begin (Reuters)
The U.S. military said yesterday that it has begun the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan (Associated Press)
Afghan Government, Taliban Prepare for Prisoner Swap
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he would finalize the details of an upcoming Taliban prisoner release today (TOLO)
The Taliban said it was willing to release one thousand prisoners, in a swap designed to serve as a confidence-building measure ahead of intra-Afghan talks (Reuters)
Afghan Election Rivals Hold Parallel Inaugurations
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah are each holding inauguration ceremonies today after both claimed victory in presidential elections (TOLO)
Official results recognized Ghani as the victor and high-ranking U.S. officials are attending his ceremony. Some politicians, such as former President Hamid Karzai, are not attending either event (TOLO)
Twenty-Seven Killed in Attack on Afghan Political Ceremony
Gunmen attacked a Kabul ceremony marking the anniversary of a politician’s death, killing at least twenty-seven people. Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and former President Hamid Karzai were present but unharmed (TOLO)
ICC to Probe War Crimes in Afghanistan
The appeals chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) greenlit an investigation of war crimes committed in Afghanistan since 2003 by Afghan forces, U.S. forces, and the Taliban. The decision is the first involving U.S. forces in the court’s history. Chief ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said she has evidence that U.S. forces committed “acts of torture, cruel treatment, outrages upon personal dignity, rape and sexual violence” in Afghanistan and in clandestine CIA facilities. The UN mission in Afghanistan said the Taliban and other anti-government forces have killed more than seventeen thousand civilians since 2009 (New York Times)
The ICC had initially decided not to proceed with the investigation because its targets were unlikely to cooperate (Guardian)
U.S. Launches First Strike Against Taliban After New Agreement
The United States carried out an air strike against the Taliban in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province after the militant group targeted Afghan forces there (TOLO)
Yesterday, U.S. President Donald J. Trump spoke to a Taliban leader by phone (TOLO)
Afghan President Condemns Taliban’s Return to Attacks
President Ashraf Ghani condemned the Taliban’s reported resumption of attacks on Afghan forces after signing a peace deal with Washington, adding that the Afghan government would need to see its own conditions met before entering talks with the militant group. A Taliban spokesperson said such talks would only come after the government’s release of five thousand Taliban prisoners (TOLO)
U.S.-Taliban Deal Outlines U.S. Withdrawal From Afghanistan
The United States and the Taliban signed an agreement laying out a fourteen-month timetable for full U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in exchange for the prevention of attacks against the United States and its allies. Both sides pledged to support efforts to achieve a lasting cease-fire between the Taliban and the Afghan government (Washington Post)
The deal sets the stage for the United States to withdraw from its longest foreign war with a partial drawdown of five thousand troops in the first 135 days (New York Times)
Within hours of the deal’s signing, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani publicly objected to one of its proposals, saying Washington did not have the authority to commit to an Afghan-Taliban prisoner swap that would occur by March 10, when intra-Afghan talks are set to begin (TOLO)
U.S.-Taliban Deal Expected Over Weekend
Afghan officials are meeting with Taliban leaders in Doha, Qatar, today ahead of tomorrow’s expected deal between the militant group and Washington (TOLO)
Bombing in Afghanistan Injures Nine
An improvised explosive device exploded in Kabul yesterday, wounding nine civilians. The Taliban denied responsibility for the attack (Voice of America)
Reduction in Violence Continues Across Afghanistan Despite Smaller Attacks
General Scott Miller, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said yesterday “we’re seeing what we would call a downward trend in violence … there’s still some incidents and we’re working through those incidents” (TOLO)
Four security incidents were reported across the country yesterday in which five Afghan security forces personnel were killed, bringing the total of security forces personnel killed since the agreement went into effect on February 21 to eighteen (TOLO)
Taliban Attack Targets Afghan Security Outpost
A Taliban attack on an outpost of pro-government fighters in the northern Balkh province killed at least seven people yesterday. Taliban attacks have been confirmed in three provinces since a reduction in violence pact with the United States came into effect on Saturday (TOLO)
U.S., Taliban Begin Violence Reduction Deal
An agreement between Washington and the Taliban to reduce violence in Afghanistan is set to begin at midnight tonight, according to Afghanistan’s National Security Council. Washington plans to sign a deal with the militant group on February 29, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said (TOLO)
Afghanistan’s Ghani Elected President As Opponent Challenges Results
The final results of Afghanistan’s September presidential election declared incumbent President Ashraf Ghani the winner with 50.6 percent of votes to challenger Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah’s 39.5 percent (TOLO)
Abdullah rejected the results and said he would form his own “inclusive government” (Guardian)
The uncertainty over leadership comes as Washington is on the brink of a de-escalation agreement with the Taliban that would serve as a prelude to peace talks that include the Afghan government (New York Times)
Taliban Leader Announces Peace Agreement Ratification Date
Senior Taliban leader Abdul Salam Hanafi said an agreement with the United States will be signed by the end of the month (Washington Post)
Afghanistan Clashes Continue
Afghan government forces and the Taliban each reported attacks against each other yesterday, while U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that a proposal for a seven-day reduction in violence had been negotiated with the Taliban (Reuters)
Trump Gives Conditional Approval for Peace Deal With Taliban
U.S. President Donald J. Trump has reportedly given conditional approval to sign a deal with the Taliban if the militant group can demonstrate its commitment to reducing violence, Afghan and U.S. officials said. An agreement to reduce violence during a specific time period is expected to be a precursor to a broader peace deal. The Taliban presented a violence reduction proposal in January, and negotiations since have focused on its details (New York Times)
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shared progress in U.S.-Taliban peace talks with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, according to their offices (TOLO)
U.S. and Taliban negotiators are set to meet in Doha today (Washington Post)
Suicide Attack Targets Afghan Military Academy
A suicide bombing killed at least six people and wounded at least twelve more outside the Marshal Fahim military academy in Kabul. No group claimed responsibility for the attack (TOLO)
Two U.S. Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan Attack
Two U.S. soldiers were killed and six wounded after a man in an Afghan army uniform opened fire on U.S.-Afghan forces, the U.S. military said (Associated Press)
Afghan President Breaks Ground on Four-Nation Energy Project
In Islamabad, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani inaugurated the construction of a $1.2 billion project that is set to bring three hundred megawatts of electricity to Afghanistan and one thousand megawatts to Pakistan each year from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan (Voice of America)
Afghan Media Protest Lack of Access to Information
Thirty Afghan media outlets joined international groups including Reporters Without Borders and the European Union to demand better access to government-related information (TOLO)
Pompeo Calls for Reduction of Violence in Afghan War
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the United States would resume peace talks with the Taliban, but urged the insurgency to scale back attacks as a necessary condition for a successful peace agreement (New York Times)