Afghanistan

The Afghan government Saturday postponed the release of 1,500 Taliban prisoners, an Afghan official said, a decision that could sabotage a peace deal signed last month between the Taliban and the United States.

The Taliban on Wednesday rejected Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s offer to release 1,500 insurgent prisoners ahead of peace talks, saying it wanted 5,000 captives freed before opening negotiations. Taliban political spokesperson Suhail Shaheen told AFP the prisoners should be released “as a trust-building measure” before intra-Afghan talks.

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on Tuesday afternoon welcoming recent steps towards ending the conflict in Afghanistan. All 15 members supported the resolution, tabled by the United States, which endorses a joint US-Afghan declaration on peace and an agreement signed between Washington and the Taliban.

Two Afghan politicians - who both claim they won the presidential election - have declared themselves president at rival inauguration ceremonies. The electoral commission says incumbent Ashraf Ghani narrowly won September's vote, but Abdullah Abdullah alleges the result is fraudulent.

A U.S. official says U.S. forces have begun leaving Afghanistan under the first phase of an initial troop withdrawal required under the newly signed U.S.-Taliban peace agreement.

An investigation of alleged war crimes by the US and others in the Afghan conflict can go ahead, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has ruled. The ICC overturned on appeal a previous decision to block the investigation.

Afghanistan's government and the Taliban are deadlocked on a prisoner swap ahead of peace talks, but the US will start pulling out troops anyway.

On Saturday the United Nations called for further reductions in violence in Afghanistan, and for the conditions for intra-Afghan peace talks to be met, following the announcement of an agreement between the United States and the Taliban.

The United States voiced optimism Tuesday (25 February) about reaching an accord to end the war in Afghanistan as a partial truce held with the Taliban, warning rival leaders in the Kabul government not to scuttle the “enormous opportunity.” The United States plans to sign an agreement with the Taliban on Saturday in Qatar if the week-long truce holds.

The United Nations reported Saturday the conflict in Afghanistan killed more than 3,400 civilians and injured nearly 7,000 others in 2019. The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) blamed the Taliban, Islamic State and other militant groups for causing 49% of the deaths, saying pro-government forces, including the U.S.-led coalition, were responsible for 43% deaths.