The Secretary-General has asked Arnault to assist in achieving a political solution to the conflict, working closely with the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and regional partners…reports Asian Lite News
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed French diplomat Jean Arnault as his personal envoy on Afghanistan and regional issues.
The Secretary-General has asked Arnault to assist in achieving a political solution to the conflict, working closely with the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and regional partners, Guterres’ press office said in a statement on Wednesday.
According to the statement, Arnault brings over 30 years of diplomatic experience in peace settlements and mediation, with an extensive background in UN missions in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America, including Afghanistan.
The personal envoy will be responsible for liaison with regional countries to support the negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban, as well as the implementation of any agreements which are reached, said Stephane Dujarric, Guterres’ spokesman.
The appointment came ahead of multilateral peace talks on war-torn Afghanistan in Moscow on Thursday, which will include an Afghan government delegation and representatives of the Taliban, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Afghanistan’s killing fields: Taliban and its mentors have blood on their hands
Meanwhile, Turkey would also arrange a US-proposed conference on the Afghanistan peace process early in April.
The Secretary-General remains ready to support initiatives for advancing the Afghanistan peace negotiations, said Dujarric.
The concurrence of the parties will underpin any progress toward a political settlement, he added.
According to local officials, the helicopter was en route to evacuate a wounded soldier from the highly-contested province when the incident took place….reports Asian Lite News
An Afghan military helicopter crashed in Wardak province, killing all nine people on board, officials said on Thursday.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Defence, the Mi-17 helicopter crash landed in Hesa-e-Awal Behsud district, reports dpa news agency.
The statement said the victims comprised four crew members and five security personnel, adding that an investigation was underway.
According to local officials, the helicopter was en route to evacuate a wounded soldier from the highly-contested province when the incident took place.
The incident took place as a high-profile summit with the aim of finding a peaceful solution to the long-running conflict in Afghanistan was set to take place in Moscow on Thursday.
An official delegation from Kabul and the militant Taliban group are also expected to attend the conference in the Russian capital.
Peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government representatives that started in September 2020 in Qatar have stalled in recent months, with no tangible progress.
Afghan security force members take part in a military operation in Ghazni province, eastern Afghanistan
John Sopko accused Taliban of being responsible for the continued rise in violence
Afghanistan remains exceptionally reliant upon foreign assistance, creating both an opportunity for donors to influence events there as foreign troops depart,said John Sopko…reports Asian Lite News
The US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, John Sopko, at the House Committee on Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on National Security has said that the Taliban have not significantly changed their high levels of violence, or military and political objectives.
“Security remains the most crucial and enduring high-risk area for Afghanistan,” Spoko said on Tuesday, adding that “Terrorist groups in Afghanistan like Daesh and al-Qaeda, although reduced, remain in the country.”
He said that the ongoing peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban raise questions and concerns about whether the fragile gains made by women and girls will be preserved in a future peace agreement, Tolo news reported.
Afghanistan’s killing fields: Taliban and its mentors have blood on their hands
“Discrimination persists, and possible policy changes by whatever form of government might follow an Afghan peace agreement could undermine women’s gains,” he said.
Civilian casualties
Spoko also mentioned that the civilian casualties also remain high—the numbers of civilian casualties violently killed and wounded in the last quarter of 2020 were the third highest in the last two years.
He said that Afghanistan remains exceptionally reliant upon foreign assistance, creating both an opportunity for donors to influence events there as foreign troops depart, adding that “and risks to a potential peace if they reduce assistance too much, too fast, or insist on conditions that cannot be achieved by the parties to the conflict.”
Spoko added that the UN Development Programme estimates that poverty in Afghanistan, defined as income of 2,064 afghanis per person per month (around $1 a day), has increased to 68 per cent from its pre-pandemic level of 55 per cent.
“Afghanistan is poor and suffers from illiteracy, inadequate infrastructure, weak governance, and now, heavy impacts from the Covid pandemic,” he said.
SIGAR investigations have identified corruption at virtually every level of the Afghan state—from salaries paid by international donors for Afghan soldiers & police who do not exist—to theft of US-military-provided fuel on a massive scale, he said.
“While the Afghan government has repeatedly assured the international community that it has the political will to combat corruption and make needed institutional reforms, it has a mixed record of completing them,” Spoko added.
High-level officials, including President Ghani, Abdullah and foreign envoys, along with Taliban representatives, are expected to attend the meeting in Moscow…..reports Asian Lite News
Afghanistan’s National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib said that the Kabul government will participate in the UN-led conference in Turkey, proposed by the US, and the Moscow conference on the war-torn country’s peace process.
Addressing a press briefing on Saturday, Mohib said that the Afghan government is working on a delegation for the two events, TOLO News reported.
The Turkey conference was proposed by the US in a letter by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, the chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, this month.
Russian President Vladimir Putin
It is slated to take place in Istanbul next month.
High-level officials, including President Ghani, Abdullah and foreign envoys, along with Taliban representatives, are expected to attend the meeting in Moscow on March 18 to discuss the Afghan peace process.
“When it comes to participation, we will participate in the meetings,” Mohib told the press briefing.
In his letter, Blinken put forth suggestions to the Afghan government to accelerate the peace process, including convening a UN-facilitated conference with international stakeholders; proposals to facilitate discussion between the two sides to form a negotiated settlement and ceasefire; a meeting in Turkey between both sides to finalize a peace agreement; and a revised proposal for a 90-day reduction in violence.
The meeting took place on Monday at the army’s General Headquarters in Rawalpindi…reports Asian Lite News
Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa and visiting US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad discussed the ongoing peace process for the war-torn country, the military here said.
The meeting took place on Monday at the army’s General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.
Khalilzad arrived in Pakistan earlier in the day after stops in Afghanistan and Qatar.
In a statement, the military’s media wing, ISPR said: “Matters of mutual interest, regional security and ongoing Afghanistan Reconciliation Process were discussed during the meeting.”
The meeting came as the new US administration under President Joe Biden chalked out a four-point strategy for the Afghanistan government, with a vision to end the decades long war, warning of dangerous and dire consequences if the peace deal with the Taliban is scrapped.
In a letter written by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, addressed to the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Head of the Afghan peace council Abdullah Abdullah, it was warned and intimated that if the peace deal with the Taliban is negated, it would result in an opportunity for the terror outfit to make “rapid territorial gains”, which may lead to toppling of the Kabul administration.
The US and the Taliban signed an agreement in February 2020, which called for a full withdrawal of American military forces from the conflict-ridden country by May 2021 if the militant group meets the conditions of the deal, including severing ties with other terrorist organisations.
The administration of President Joe Biden had noted that the Taliban had not met its commitment under the US-Taliban deal.
The war in Afghanistan, which has caused about 2,400 US military deaths, is the longest one in American history.
Three female employees of a local TV channel Enikass were shot dead and one other staffer was injured in the attack that took place in Jalalabad city, the provincial capital…reports Asian Lite News
The Islamic State (IS) terror group on Wednesday claimed responsibility for a shooting attack that killed three female media workers in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province.
Three female employees of a local TV channel Enikass were shot dead and one other staffer was injured in the attack that took place in Jalalabad city, the provincial capital, on Tuesday evening.
The IS claimed in an online Arabic language statement that their fighters were behind the shooting in the province, where the group emerged in early 2015.
The mountainous province, 120 km east of Kabul, has been the scene of clashes between security forces and IS militants from time to time.
One female TV anchor of Enikass and her driver were killed in a similar incident in December 2020.
Seven media persons were killed in 2020 amid the deteriorating security situation, according to the Afghan Journalists Safety Committee (AJSC), an independent media safety group.
Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani on Saturday said the international community has kept the country’s citizens away from their fundamental rights of peace during the last four decades, reiterating that the people now want permanent and dignified peace.
Addressing a ceremony on Armed Forces Day, Ghani said Afghan security forces have played a prominent role in fighting international terrorism and that they can protect the values the country has achieved over the last 20 years, Tolo news reported.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAlNACeik7w&t=4s
Referring to his recent address to the UN Security Council, Ghani said: “My main sentence was that for the last 40 years, the international community has kept a massive nation away from their fundamental right which is peace and this is unacceptable.”
“We want peace and we want dignified peace and a peace that is ensured by the power of our security and defense forces and with the will of the people. This peace will come,” he said.
Ghani said the violence must end and that there should be no more bloodshed and no one should remain deprived of education anymore.
He added that Afghans will decide on the next president and the next government.
“The people of Afghanistan have elected their government and president and they will elect the next president of Afghanistan,” Ghani added.
Role Of Armed Forces
“It is the right of the nation and the security and defense forces will prove that change will be legal and based on the nation’s will; otherwise, the tenure of the Republic is clear.”
He said that the Afghan security and defense forces are conducting over 90 per cent of counterterrorism operations.
“Today’s Afghanistan is not the one it was in the past, the one that was protected by others. Today, you are safeguarding it. We are very close to self-reliance,” he said.
Ghani, Johnson discussed bilateral ties and Afghan peace process
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a telephonic conversation with the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani during which the former reiterated his country’s continued support to the latter’s fight against the Taliban, according to a statement by the British government.
“Johnson on Friday reiterated the UK’s longstanding support for the Afghan government’s fight against the Taliban as part of the NATO coalition,” said the statement.
“They agreed on the importance of making progress in peace talks to secure a sovereign, democratic and united Afghanistan and to preserve the gains made by civil society and women and girls,” the statement added.
The Presidential Palace said in a statement that Ghani and Johnson discussed the bilateral ties and the Afghan peace process, Tolo news reported.
The British Prime Minister assured President Ghani of his country’s continued support to the Afghan peace process, strengthened regional diplomacy, and UK’s support to Afghan forces, the Palace said.
The statement further said that both of them also discussed the global efforts to tackle the pandemic and the roll out of vaccines in Afghanistan and the UK.
The war-ravaged Asian country is on the brink of collapse. But, it is fighting back with the help of neighbours like India. Afghan security force members, journalists and doctors received the jabs in the first round of vaccine drive….reports Asian Lite News
Afghanistan officially kicked off its Covid-19 vaccination drive on Tuesday at an event held at the Presidential Palace.
Afghan president Ashraf Ghani took part in the event along with officials from the Health Ministry.
Afghan security force members, journalists and doctors received the jabs in the first round of vaccine drive.
President Ghani said at the event that the first stage of the vaccination in Afghanistan will start with 500,000 doses, adding that “efforts are underway to cover 40 per cent of the population in the second round.”
Recently, Afghanistan received 500,000 doses of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine from India. The vaccines were produced by the Serum Institute of India.
Afghanistan has had 55,646 reported Covid-19 cases and 2,435 deaths from the disease, according to the health ministry.
Previously, the Afghan health officials said that the government wants to vaccinate 20 per cent of the country’s population within the next six months, and donor countries and organisations have pledged $112 million.
So far, Covid-19 vaccines have been implemented in at least 50 countries.
Can you trust Taliban? They are like Lanka’s LTTE. They will continue peace talks by hiding their real intention to strike. The UN report said that for a seventh consecutive year, UNAMA documented more than 3,000 civilians killed in a single year, with Afghanistan remaining among the deadliest places in the world to be a civilian…..reports Asian Lite News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3cx1vqrvd0
The total number of afghan civilian casualties in 2020 of 8,820 (3,035 killed and 5,785 inured) fell below 10,000 for the first time since 2013 and was 15 per cent down on 2019, according to a UN report released Tuesday.
The Afghan civilian casualties on the rise since the beginning of peace negotiations, said report by UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the UN Human Rights Office.
Deborah Lyons, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan said “2020 could have been the year of peace in Afghanistan. Instead, thousands of Afghan civilians perished due to the conflict.”
“This important report has the overriding objective of providing the parties responsible with the facts, and recommendations, so they take immediate and concrete steps to protect civilians. I urge them not to squander a single day in taking the urgent steps to avoid more suffering,” Deborah Lyons added.
“Ultimately, the best way to protect civilians is to establish a humanitarian ceasefire,” said Lyons, adding that “parties refusing to consider a ceasefire must recognize the devastating consequences of such a posture on the lives of Afghan civilians.”
The report said that for a seventh consecutive year, UNAMA documented more than 3,000 civilians killed in a single year, with Afghanistan remaining among the deadliest places in the world to be a civilian.
The report detailed the impact on Afghan women and children. “They make up 43 per cent of all casualties: 30 per cent were children and 13 per cent women,” according to the report.
Afghanistan’s killing fields: Taliban and its mentors have blood on their hands
Afghanistan peace negotiations, which began between representatives of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban in Qatar on September 12, “failed to alleviate the scale of civilian harm, a key indicator of violence levels. Instead, there was an escalation of violence with disturbing trends and consequences,” the report said.
In October, civilian casualties were the highest of any month in 2020, and in November UNAMA documented the highest number of civilian casualties of any November since it started systematic documentation in 2009.
The report said that the “anti-government elements (AGEs) in 2020 caused the majority of civilian casualties (62 per cent), totalling 5,459 casualties – 1,885 killed and 3,574 injured with the Taliban responsible for most of these casualties (45 per cent of the total) and Daesh responsible for 8 per cent.”
Pro-government forces (PGF) caused a quarter of all civilian casualties, totaling 2,231 (841 killed and 1,390 injured), a decrease of 24 per cent from 2019, with the Afghan national security forces causing most of these (22 per cent of the total).
The overall reduction in civilian casualties in 2020 was due to factors such as fewer suicide attacks by AGEs causing large numbers of civilian casualties, especially in urban areas, and a stark drop in casualties attributed to international military forces.
While there was an increase in the number of civilian casualties that were unclaimed by any party and for which UNAMA could not attribute responsibility, the report finds that the Taliban caused 19 per cent fewer civilian casualties than in 2019 and the Daesh 45 per cent fewer.
Strikingly, international military forces in 2020 were responsible for their lowest recorded number of civilian casualties since UNAMA began documentation in 2009.
In 2020, this figure was 120 civilian casualties, down from 786 in 2019, a decrease of 85 per cent.
A matter of “profound concern” remains the continuation of attacks “deliberately targeting civilians by AGEs. This includes attacks targeting members of the judiciary, media and civil society activists, as well as religious minorities, especially the Shia Muslim population, most of whom also belong to the Hazara ethnic group, and the Sikh population.”
“Indiscriminate attacks, such as the use of pressure-plate IEDs by the Taliban also remain of concern’,” said the report, “these devices are victim-activated and cannot be directed toward a specific target.”
Similarly, according to the UN, concerns remain about vehicle-borne IEDs that cause many civilian casualties due to the large explosive power used, even if they are not directed against civilians or civilian objects.
More than 3,000 civilians killed in #Afghanistan conflict
Also, of “grave concern” is the use of explosive weapons in civilian populated areas, especially the use of artillery shells, mortars and rockets during ground engagements, but also the use of airstrikes and IEDs in civilian populated areas, said the reports.
“Ground engagements were the leading cause of civilian casualties in 2020 (36 per cent), a slight increase compared with 2019. They were followed by AGE suicide and non-suicide attacks using improvised explosive devices (34.5 per cent), a 30 per cent decrease.”
“AGE targeted killings (14 per cent) increased by 45 per cent; and PGF airstrikes (8 per cent) were down 34 per cent,” said the report.
