Afghanistan

The U.S. military is drawing down to … 4,500 [troops] in Afghanistan by November, the head of U.S Central Command said Wednesday.

The two warring sides have grown closer this week to launching direct talks in Qatar, wrapping up a contentious and months-long prisoner exchange.

The UN’s top official in Afghanistan has warned that with the formal launch of direct peace negotiations imminent, near-record violence in the country is creating an atmosphere of mistrust that risks derailing long-sought talks between the Government and the Taliban. 

[…] The ICC in March gave [chief prosecutor Fatou] Bensouda the go-ahead to investigate whether war crimes were committed in Afghanistan by the Taliban, Afghan military, and U.S. forces.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has revealed the names of the appointed members and leaders of the country’s High Council for National Reconciliation, a body tasked with leading peace negotiations with the Taliban. … Former President Hamid Karzai was also named but he rejected the appointment in a statement on August 30, saying he declines to be part of any government structure.

Taliban insurgents carried out a suicide bombing and other attacks against government security installations in Afghanistan, killing up to 20 people and injuring dozens more.

The Taliban’s chief has finalized a negotiating team that is to have sweeping decision-making powers in upcoming intra-Afghan negotiations, the top Taliban negotiator told The Associated Press on Sunday.

Afghanistan has refused to release more prisoners until the Taliban do, meaning important peace talks set to take place this week have stalled once again. France and Australia are backing Afghanistan's position.

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A vehicle carrying Fawzia Koofi, a lawmaker and women's rights activist, was attacked by gunmen late on August 14 … Koofi, a vocal critic of the Taliban, is part of the government’s 21-member team that will lead talks with the militants.

The US currently deploys 8,600 soldiers in Afghanistan, in accordance with a bilateral agreement signed February 29 in Doha between Washington and the Taliban.