April 12, 2019

TALIBAN ANNOUNCE SPRING OFFENSIVE, EVEN AS PEACE TALKS GAIN MOMENTUM

[Violence has gotten worse in recent weeks as the weather has warmed across Afghanistan, with each side killing dozens of the other’s forces every day. Last month, the government pre-empted the Taliban by announcing its own spring military offensive, amid Afghan leaders’ frustration over having been left out of the talks aimed at setting terms for an American troop withdrawal.]


By Mujib Mashal

The site of a suicide attack this week that killed American service members near
Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, Afghanistan. The Taliban claimed
responsibility for it. Credit Rahmat Gul/Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban announced the beginning of their spring offensive on Friday, even as the insurgents said the United Nations had lifted travel bans on 15 of their senior leaders to facilitate peace talks with the United States.

The announcements were a sign that though the peace talks are gaining momentum, with an Afghan delegation expected to meet with insurgents soon, fighting is likely to intensify all over the country.

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Violence has gotten worse in recent weeks as the weather has warmed across Afghanistan, with each side killing dozens of the other’s forces every day. Last month, the government pre-empted the Taliban by announcing its own spring military offensive, amid Afghan leaders’ frustration over having been left out of the talks aimed at setting terms for an American troop withdrawal.

Two senior Western officials said the government’s early announcement appeared to have been a mistake, with lower-ranking officials having released it without the leadership’s approval. President Ashraf Ghani signed off on the security plan nearly two weeks after it was announced.

Mr. Ghani has bristled at the Americans’ decision to negotiate directly with the Taliban, despite the insurgents’ having refused to talk to his government. Mr. Ghani’s national security adviser, Hamdullah Mohib, took those frustrations to Washington last month, harshly criticizing Zalmay Khalilzad, the special envoy leading the American side at the talks in Qatar.

Recently, negotiators have been focused on moving the talks to the next stage, in which the Taliban would meet with Afghans, including delegates from the government, to discuss the country’s political future.

Mr. Khalilzad spent nearly a week in Kabul urging Afghan leaders to unite around a negotiating team before he flew to Qatar this week. Although senior Afghan political leaders have been meeting to iron out their disagreements, they appear to be some distance from reaching a consensus, with election-season mistrust complicating the discussions.

Abdullah Abdullah, the government’s chief executive and Mr. Ghani’s coalition partner, has threatened to boycott a grand council of thousands of elders that Mr. Ghani has called for next month to discuss peace, a senior official said. Mr. Abdullah and several other politicians challenging Mr. Ghani for the presidency, in elections scheduled for September, fear that Mr. Ghani will use the forum to advance his campaign.

Mr. Khalilzad’s visit to Kabul was followed by an unannounced trip by Gina Haspel, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Afghan officials said.

The Taliban and a large delegation from Afghanistan, including government representatives, are expected to meet next week in Qatar for what is being described as an icebreaker conference, one that could eventually lead to direct negotiations.

American officials have been seeking waivers to the United Nations travel ban for several senior Taliban officials in order to facilitate the peace process, according to Afghan and Western officials. On Friday, the Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that 15 of the insurgency’s senior leaders had been removed from the travel sanctions list, for an initial period of nine months.

A senior Western official said only 11 Taliban negotiators had gotten travel waivers, and that they remained on the U.N. blacklist for all purposes except traveling for peace talks.

One Afghan official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic efforts, said the United States had given the Afghan government a list of about a dozen Taliban members for whom it was requesting the waivers. But the official said the Americans had not given the government enough time to vet those names and give its approval. That process would include convening the Afghan national security council to discuss the matter.

It was unclear what Mr. Khalilzad may have gotten from the Taliban in return for what appears to be a major concession. The Taliban have long wanted their leaders removed from the sanctions list.

On Thursday, the Taliban said they had barred the Red Cross and the World Health Organization from operating in the parts of Afghanistan they control, saying they had engaged in “suspicious” activities. The Red Cross delivers medicine to the war’s front lines and helps retrieve bodies, while the World Health Organization is involved in carrying out polio vaccinations.

The insurgents revoked security guarantees for the Red Cross last fall but restored them months later, after their talks with the United States began in Qatar.

Robin Waudo, a spokesman for the Red Cross in Afghanistan, said Friday that the group had seen the insurgents’ statement online and was “seeking to engage bilaterally and confidentially with the Taliban on it. At the same time we have put our activities on hold around the country.”