UN demands end to Afghan fighting amid Doha talks deadlock

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has called for an immediate end to fighting in urban areas, as the Taliban continues a ground assault in the south of the country.

UNAMA said civilians are bearing the brunt of the violence as fighting enters cities, according to a post on its official Twitter account. The Taliban are advancing on provincial capitals, after making gains in rural areas and smaller cities, UNAMA said.

Meanwhile, US diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad has said that the Taliban and the Kabul government are far apart in US-backed talks on bringing peace to Afghanistan, with the Taliban demanding “the lion’s share of power” in any new government. “At this point, they (the Taliban) are demanding that they take the lion’s share of power in the next government given the military situation as they see it,” he told the Aspen Security Forum in an online conference in Washington.

The deadlocked negotiations in Doha were the subject of a telephone call on Tuesday between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, while agreeing on the need to accelerate talks, the US State Department said. Blinken and Ghani also “condemned the ongoing Taliban attacks and displacement of the civilian population,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

Price, the State Department spokesman, told reporters that the Taliban would become “international pariahs” if they renege on their commitment to the negotiations and the concern on the part of all of us, one of the many concerns, is that the result will be civil war.

"Speaking in New York, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists that latest reports indicate some 40 people were killed, and 118 injured, over the past 24 hours in Lashkagah, capital of Helmand Province.

Five more civilians were killed in Kandahar, and 42 wounded. The Mission said that the Taliban ground offensive and Afghan National Army airstrikes are causing the most harm, and added it is deeply concerned about indiscriminate shooting and damage to health facilities and civilian homes, Dujarric said. “All parties must do more to protect civilians or the impact will be catastrophic.”

Also on Tuesday, the UN Security Council called for those responsible for last Friday’s deadly assault against the UN compound in Herat to be brought to justice. The Council issued a statement condemning in the strongest terms the deplorable attack , which killed an Afghan security forces guard and wounded several others. The members of the Security Council expressed their deep concern about the high levels of violence in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s military offensive, and called for an immediate reduction of violence, the statement said.

They also expressed deep concern about the number of reported serious human rights abuses and violations in communities affected by the ongoing armed conflict across the country. The Council underlined that deliberate attacks targeting civilians, and UN personnel and compounds, may constitute war crimes. Members also underlined their support for UNAMA, and emphasized the importance of the safety and security of UN personnel. They called on the Afghan authorities and the Taliban to engage meaningfully in an inclusive, Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process in order to make urgent progress towards a political settlement and a ceasefire.