Kabul, Jan 24 (IANS) In the war-torn Afghanistan, fighting continues as more than 50 rebels mostly militants have been killed in the past 24 hours amid progress in the ongoing peace talks in Doha, officials said.
In the latest wave of violent incidents, the armed insurgents attacked police in Kocha-e-Dash area of Police District 11 of Herat city, the capital of the western Herat province, on Saturday killing one police constable and injuring two others, Xinhua news agency quoted a top official as saying.
According to the official, two attackers have been arrested.
The ongoing insurgency and conflicts, according to security officials, have left more than 50 dead with majority of them Taliban militants over the past 24 hours in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s 20 out of 34 provinces, according to media, have been the scene of fighting over the past two days.
Increase in fighting has been seen amid progress in the ongoing Afghan peace talks in Doha.
The Afghan peace talks which begun on September 12, 2020, following the US-Taliban so-called peace deal inked last February to end the war, paving the way for the withdrawal of thousands of US forces in Afghanistan and facilitate the intra-Afghan dialogue, has made little progress to achieve the goals.
However, the second round of talks between Afghan government negotiating team and Taliban representatives started on January 5 in the Qatari capital but no significant progress has been reported.
Contrary to expectations, the peace talks have failed to reduce violence and security incidents in Afghanistan.
Expressing concerns over increase in violent incidents, Chairman of High Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah on Saturday said that the security incidents have increased, while Afghans need the ceasefire to make the peace talks succeed.
In the meantime, the US new administration of President Joe Biden has reportedly vowed to review the February 2020 peace deal with Taliban.
–IANS
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