The US, on Sunday, said that it will continue providing air support to Afghan troops as offensives by the Taliban have increased in recent weeks.
"The United States has increased airstrikes in support of Afghan forces over the last several days and we're prepared to continue this heightened level of support in the coming weeks if the Taliban continue their attacks," US Marine General Kenneth "Frank" McKenzie, who leads US Central Command, which controls US forces for a region that includes Afghanistan told Reuters. Mc Kenzie, however, declined to comment whether the US would continue airstrikes after it officially ends its mission in Kabul in August. He also said that there would likely be an increase in attacks from the Taliban after a lull during the Eid holidays this week.
The Taliban has been insisting that there won't be peace in the country unless President Ashraf Ghani is removed and a new government is formed. Ghani has said that he would remain in power until the next elections determine the next leader of the country.
The Afghanistan government, on Saturday, imposed a curfew in almost all of the country in a bid to stop the Taliban from invading cities. The Taliban is said to have taken control over half of the countryside. Fear is rampant that if negotiations slow down, the Taliban's attacks will increasingly be aimed at heavily populated urban areas.
A night-time curfew has been imposed in all provinces except Kabul, Panjshir and Nangarhar. The curfew will be effective from 10 pm to 4 am.
Civilian casualties in Afghanistan at record level in May-June: UN
The United Nations on Monday said that nearly 2,400 Afghan civilians were killed or injured in May and June due to escalation in fighting between Taliban insurgents and Afghan security forces, the highest number for those two months since records started in 2009.
The numbers have increased by 47 per cent since the same period last year. Fighting escalated ever since US President Joe Biden announced that the US would withdraw troops from Afghanistan by September 2021. “Of serious concern is the acute rise in the number of civilians killed and injured in the period from 1 May, with almost as many civilian casualties in the May-June period as recorded in the entire preceding four months,” UN's Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) told Reuters.
During May and June, the Taliban has launched heavy offensives, taken over rural districts, borders crossings and surrounding provincial capitals, this has prompted Afghan and US forces to carry out airstrikes to push back the insurgents.
"I implore the Taliban and Afghan leaders to take heed of the conflict's grim and chilling trajectory and its devastating impact on civilians," said Deborah Lyons, the UN Secretary- General's Special Representative for Afghanistan.
“Unprecedented numbers of Afghan civilians will perish and be maimed this year if the increasing violence is not stemmed,” she added.
Negotiators of the US, Afghanistan and the Taliban have been meeting in Doha in Qatar in recent weeks, but, diplomats have said that there's been little progress since the peace talks began in September.
