Afghan President Announces Eid Holiday Ceasefire With Taliban
Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani office’s said that a "conditional" ceasefire with the Taliban will run for a three-month period.
"The conditional ceasefire will start tomorrow and it will continue as long as the Taliban* preserves and respects it," Ashraf Ghani said in an Afghan independence day ceremony.
The president expressed hope that the Taliban would also declare a ceasefire.
According to the TOLOnews channel, citing the president, the ceasefire will start on Monday and will end on November 19. However, the ceasefire will be implemented only if the Taliban respects it.
The Taliban earlier led an assault into the city in Ghazni, killing some 100 Afghan Security Forces soldiers and about 20 civilians in three days, according to the Afghan Defense Ministry.
According to a US military report, the Taliban controls, influences or contests 43.7 percent of the country.
On June 7, Ghani declared a unilateral ceasefire with the Taliban from June 11 to June 19 to mark Eid al-Fitr, a Muslim holiday that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. On June 17, the Afghan president prolonged the ceasefire for another 10 days. The radical movement ceased hostilities for three days of the Eid truce but rejected the government's request to prolong the ceasefire.
- Source : Sputnik News
