US-brokered peace talks began in September but progress has since slowed and violence has risen with uncertainty over whether international forces will pull out troops by May as originally planned. Civilian casualties were 8,820 in 2020, according to the United Nations’ mission to Afghanistan’s (UNAMA) annual report. That was 15 percent lower than the previous year, but the report’s authors noted with alarm a sharp uptick and historically high civilian casualties in the final three months of 2020, when peace talks began. Last year “could have been the year of peace in Afghanistan. Zabihullah said that the lull was only a break and the Taliban were committed to talks, with further meetings expected in coming days.

Source: Egypt Independent February 23, 2021 06:45 UTC