Global Community Calls for Urgent Taliban Cease-fire
Voice of America
ISLAMABAD - Foreign diplomatic missions in Afghanistan called for the Taliban on Monday to urgently cease their military offensive, saying it runs counter to claims the insurgent group wants a negotiated settlement to the war.
The collective call comes a day after the Taliban and senior envoys representing the Afghan government ended a two-day meeting in Doha, Qatar, Sunday, without reporting any significant progress on peace talks. The insurgent violence “thwarts efforts to arrive at a negotiated solution to the conflict and harms and displaces the civilian population,” 15 missions, including the United States, along with the NATO envoy in the country lamented in a joint statement. "The Taliban’s offensive is in direct contradiction to their claim to support a negotiated settlement of the conflict, and to the Doha peace process,” the statement said.Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024. Fire rages following an Israeli strike on an area designated for displaced Palestinians, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, in this still picture taken from a video, May 26, 2024. Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024. A member of the bomb squad of the Israeli police collects debris after a rocket fired by Palestinian militants struck in the Israeli city of Herzliya on May 26, 2024.