Afghanistan government officials said on Thursday that the skirmishes between Taliban fighters and Afghan security forces recommenced in Afghanistan in the day since a three-day ceasefire expired, but the incidents were minor and the truce could still hold.
A spokeswoman of the province governor issued a statement in which she said that seven Afghan security forces personnel were killed.
“Taliban attacked checkpoints in the Syagird district of central Parwan province late Wednesday night,’’ she said.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said that the government had carried out airstrikes on Wednesday in the southern province of Zabul despite the group’s fighters not having carried out any attacks.
An agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban forces to withdraw the U.S. forces after more than 18 years in Afghanistan was made. The government of Afghanistan was left alone to negotiate a peace deal and to end the war with the Taliban.
Until now, the war seems to be far from finished, but there was a ceasefire because of the Muslim holiday of Ramazan. According to senior Afghan government officials, there have been some violations from both sides, but not big enough to doom the ceasefire effort.
Javid Faisal, a spokesman for the Afghan National Security Advisor (NSA) issued a statement in which he said:
“The ceasefire is not over yet. There have been violations because it is a complicated technical process that requires good coordination between both sides.’’
Around 900 Taliban members were freed by the government of Afghanistan on Tuesday. This was the biggest release of prisoners and it was a part of a prisoner swap thanks to a deal made by the Taliban and the United States in Qatar, three months ago.
According to Reuters, a Taliban delegation has arrived in Kabul to work with a government team on the release of prisoners on both sides, spokesmen for both sides said on Twitter on Thursday.
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