ZCZC
BFF-27
AFGHANISTAN-UNREST
Afghan peace marchers arrive in Kabul as Taliban end ceasefire
KABUL, June 18, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Dozens of peace protesters arrived in
Kabul on Monday after walking hundreds of kilometres across war-battered
Afghanistan, as the Taliban ended an unprecedented ceasefire and resumed
attacks in parts of the country.
Exhausted after their 700-kilometre (430-mile) trek, most of it during the
Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the marchers walked double file through the
Afghan capital shouting “We want peace!” and “Stop fighting!”
“We want our people to stay united for peace and get rid of this misery for
the next generation,” Mohammad Naikzad, one of the marchers, told Tolo News.
“I am calling on both sides — the government and the Taliban — for God’s
sake… find a way for peace and reconciliation.”
The Taliban refused to extend their three-day ceasefire beyond Sunday night
despite pressure from ordinary Afghans, the government and the international
community.
Taliban fighters attacked security forces in numerous districts of eastern
and southern Afghanistan, officials told AFP, but there were no details on
casualties.
Defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanesh told AFP there had been “very
few” reports of fighting since the government on Saturday extended its own
ceasefire with the Taliban for another 10 days.
“We hope the Taliban accept the Afghan nation’s call for peace,” Radmanesh
added.
The peace march, believed to be the first of its kind in Afghanistan,
emerged from a sit-in protest and hunger strike in Lashkar Gah, the capital
of the southern province of Helmand which is a Taliban stronghold.
That demonstration, which began spontaneously after a car bomb attack in
the city on March 23, triggered similar movements by war-weary Afghans
nationwide.
But when the Taliban and security forces failed to heed their demands to
stop fighting, some protesters decided to take their message directly to the
country’s top leaders.
Initially ridiculed for their plan to walk to Kabul, the marchers now enjoy
strong public support.
They are calling for an extended ceasefire, peace talks and a timetable for
the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan — which is also a key
demand of the Taliban.
The Taliban announced Sunday they would not extend their ceasefire with
Afghan police and troops despite describing the truce as “successful” and a
demonstration that the militants were united.
“The mujahedeen across the country are ordered to continue their operations
against the foreign invaders and their domestic stooges as usual,” the group
said in a statement.
The first formal nationwide ceasefire since the 2001 US-led invasion had
sparked extraordinary scenes of Taliban fighters, security forces and
civilians happily celebrating the Eid al-Fitr holiday together.
BSS/AFP/MR/1340 hrs