After 'week of truce', violence reigns in Afghanistan again

(Patria) – The US military announced that it carried out an airstrike on Taliban fighters in the Afghan province of Helmand on Wednesday.

Spokesperson for US forces in Afghanistan Colonel Sonny Leggett announced on his Twitter profile that "US forces conducted a strike on Taliban fighters in Nahr-e Saraj because they were actively attacking a position of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF)".

He also stated that the Taliban carried out a total of 43 attacks on ANDSF positions in Helmand on March 3.

Leggett also said that US forces are "committed to peace, but are responsible for defending their ANDSF partners".

He called on the Taliban to stop the attacks and adhere to the obligations arising from the agreement signed on February 29 with the US in Qatar, which is the basis for the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan.

The Taliban do not accept responsibility for the attacks, nor have they commented on the US airstrikes on Wednesday, writes Euronews. However, their spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told AP on Wednesday that the week of reduced violence, which began on February 21, had ended.

Let us recall that peace talks, as a result of the agreement between the Taliban and the US, were supposed to begin on March 10. However, the Afghan government has now refused to release Taliban prisoners, which was part of the agreement between the US and the Taliban side.

President Donald Trump confirmed on Tuesday that he had a phone conversation with a Taliban leader, which is the first time in US history that a president has spoken directly with a militant group.