Afghanistan: Airstrikes on Taliban base in Kunduz district leads to 30 civilian casualties

Violence in Afghanistan continues to be a regular occurrence even with government and Taliban entering into peace negotiations. In latest skirmish, two airstrikes on a Taliban base in rastern Afghan province of Kunduz left up to 30 civilians de on Saturday, September 19.

long-awaited Afghan Peace talks began in Doha, Qatar last week and are being seen as a ‘historic opportunity’ to end deces of war in country; however, week has seen an uptick in daily clashes in Afghanistan.

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30 civilians killed

According to reports, one airstrike was carried out in Nikpai area of Khanab district of Kunduz, drawing civilians from around area. That is when ar airstrike is reported to have occurred which resulted in 30 civilian casualties. In dition, 18 people have also been left injured in incident.

As per Sayhoon News reports, Afghan Defense Minister Asullah Khalid has stated that attacks by Taliban forces have actually increased since beginning of peace talks. Khalid is also reported to have ded that in an effort to ensure violence does t negatively impact ongoing talks, Afghan security forces have refrained from any aggressive retaliatory measures.

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Intra-Afghan peace talks are a result of an agreement signed between Washington and Taliban back in February. As per terms of agreement, US agreed to move troops out of Afghanistan while  government and Taliban agree to exchange 4,000 and 1,000 prisoners respectively.

peace talks were delayed because Afghan government was reluctant to release final batch oof 400 Taliban prisoners as y were convicted of heius crimes. But after much talks and deliberations, remaining 400 prisoners were released and talks could finally commence.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attended first day of Afghan peace talks in Doha and affirmed US commitment to peace processes in region. While talks are currently being held in Qatar, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have offered to host any future talks between Taliban and Afghan government.

(With ANI inputs)

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