Afghanistan: Protest condemns US airstrikes as civilian casualties rise

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kunar_protest_civilian_deaths

Press TV
February 20, 2019

Hundreds of Afghans marched in protest in the eastern Kunar province of Afghanistan on Tuesday, demanding an end to US airstrikes after increasing numbers of civilian casualties in the past months.

Last year, the United States stepped up military operations in Afghanistan to their highest levels since 2014, in an effort to restrain the growing Taliban presence in the area.

“We are tired of war and bombardments. Instead, we want peace and a ceasefire in this country. Even our women and children are being killed by America’s airstrikes,” said protester Mohammad Asif, who himself wears a prosthetic leg as a result of an airstrike.

At least 10 civilians died after US airstrikes on February 9. A UN report released in October of last year revealed a 39 percent increase in civilian casualties from airstrikes in the first nine months of 2018, compared with the same time period in 2017.

Govt, Taliban Talks to Start in a Few Months: Daudzai

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Daudzai

Daudzai

Tolo News: President Ashraf Ghani’s Special Representative for Regional Affairs for Consensus on Peace Mohammad Umer Daudzai said on Wednesday that there was the possibility that direct talks between government and the Taliban would start in the next few months. Addressing an Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission conference, Daudzai said people will soon witness direct negotiations. Click here to read more (external link).

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Six Afghan Civilians Killed By Roadside Bomb

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laghmanRadio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
February 20, 2019

An Afghan official said six civilians were killed after their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb in the eastern province of Laghman.

Asadullah Dawlatzai, the provincial governor’s spokesman, said the victims were travelling in Qarghayi district when the bomb went off on February 19.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Taliban militants regularly plant explosives targeting Afghan and foreign security forces. The bombs often end up killing or maiming civilians.

According to a quarterly report by the United Nation’s Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), nearly 2,800 civilians were killed and more than 5,200 wounded between January and September 2018.

In a separate attack late on February 18, police said a doctor was killed by an explosive device attached to his vehicle as he returned home from his private clinic in the capital Kabul.

The Islamic State extremist group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Based on reporting by AP and dpa

Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

Bosnia Detains Six Afghans Linked To Terrorism, Human Trafficking

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bosnia

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
February 20, 2019

Six Afghan migrants suspected of links to terrorism and human trafficking have been detained in Bosnia-Herzegovina this year, the country’s service for foreign affairs said.

The six are among more than 25,000 migrants and refugees mostly from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran who have entered Bosnia since 2018 after Hungary and Serbia closed their borders.

Five of the migrants are suspected of links to terrorism and the sixth of human trafficking and organized crime, the agency said.

The agency said in a February 19 statement that the six represent “a threat to public order and security” and will be expelled from the country.

The suspects, aged 22-34, were found in the capital, Sarajevo, and the northwestern town of Bihac.

More than 5,000 migrants have been stuck in Bosnia as they attempt to cross the border into Croatia before travelling further west.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AP

Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

U.S. Envoy Calls On Afghanistan To Unite As Peace Talks Intensify

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Ashraf Ghani (left) and Zalmay Khalilzad (right)

Ashraf Ghani (left) and Zalmay Khalilzad (right)

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
February 19, 2019

U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has called on Afghans to put aside their differences and unite as attempts to end Afghanistan’s 17-year war gain momentum.

Khalilzad has held a series of direct talks with Taliban negotiators in the Middle East in recent months, although those discussions have not included the Western-backed Kabul government.

Key Afghan power brokers who oppose President Ashraf Ghani held talks with Taliban negotiators in Moscow on February 5-6.

Opposition politicians have criticized the negotiating team announced by Ghani that is headed by his chief of staff for not being inclusive.

Khalilzad called on the Afghan government to form a “strong, national” negotiating team.

“We need a team where government’s leadership is respected,” Khalilzad told Afghanistan’s Tolo News on February 18. “At the same time, the participation of other political elements is also a must.”

Khalilzad, a former U.S. ambassador, was in the Afghan capital, Kabul, where he held talks with Ghani and senior political figures.

He said peace would only be achieved in Afghanistan if there was “unity, consensus, and agreement between Afghans, inside and outside the government.”

Kabul has been angered and frustrated that it has been left out of the talks.

Ghani said last week he will convene a consultative Loya Jirga, a traditional assembly of tribal, ethnic, and religious leaders, to reach a national consensus on peace talks with the Taliban.

Khalilzad is scheduled to meet Taliban negotiators for talks in Qatar on February 25.

During the previous round of talks in Doha, the Qatari capital, U.S. and Taliban negotiators reached the basic framework of a possible peace deal.

The agreement calls for the Taliban to prevent international terrorist groups from basing themselves in Afghanistan and for the United States to withdraw its forces from the country.

“There are difficulties, but we have agreed with the Taliban to meet again on February 25,” he said. “We agreed in principle to talk in details and with more authenticity about two topics to find whether there is the possibility to make more progress on the issue of terrorism and the issue of forces.”

The Taliban has yet to make concessions on two key U.S. demands — implementing a cease-fire and agreeing to negotiate directly with Afghan government representatives as part of an Afghan-led, intra-Afghan peace process.

“I want a broad-based cease-fire to be announced as soon as possible,” Khalilzad said. “Secondly, there is a need for discussions and consultations among Afghans, including the [Afghan] government, to start soon.”

The Taliban has so far refused to hold talks with Kabul, calling it illegitimate.

The Taliban announced that it would hold talks with U.S. and Pakistani officials in Islamabad on February 18, but the talks were canceled after Kabul’s protests.

With reporting by Tolo News and Khaama

Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

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In Afghanistan, Replacing Shame With Understanding on the Topic of Menstruation

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womanUndark:  Saina Hamidi, a psychological counsellor in Kabul, Afghanistan, says she was around nine years old when she first heard mention of women who bleed. Her older sister had come across one of their cousins washing bloodied clothes and told their mother about it. “I overheard my mother reprimand my sister for talking about it and tell her not to mention it to anyone else,” Hamidi recalled. The message was clear, Hamidi added: “If we were to ever see it again, we should hide it.” Click here to read more more (external link).