The United States closed five military bases in Afghanistan as part of an agreement signed with the Taliban more than four months ago, a US official confirmed to Fox News.
The deal promised to withdraw all U.S. forces from bases in the first 135 days, a milestone reached Tuesday, President Trump’s special representative at the talks, Zalmay Khalilzad said.
“The United States has worked hard to carry out the first phase of its commitments under the Agreement, including the reduction of forces and the departure of five bases. NATO troops have declined in proportional numbers,” Khalilzad said on Twitter.
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Afghan media outlet Tolo reported that the five US bases that closed are located in Helmand, Uruzgan, Paktika and Laghman provinces in southern and eastern Afghanistan.
The largest US bases in Bagram, located outside Kabul, and the Kandahar airfield in southern Afghanistan remain open.
US troops patrol at an Afghan National Army (ANA) base in Logar province, Afghanistan, August 7, 2018. REUTERS / Omar Sobhani
Another important provision of the proposed peace agreement negotiated in Doha in February between the Taliban and the United States is the large-scale withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.
The United States reduced the number of troops in the region to 8,600, down from a peak of more than 100,000 in 2010.
Despite the reduction of US troops as part of the deal, violence between the Taliban and Afghan forces has exploded in recent months, according to the Afghan government.
Just a day before the base closed, the Taliban detonated a car bomb at a government facility in Samangan province capital Aybak, near the office of the National Security Directorate (NDS), a key intelligence agency. , killing 11 security personnel and injuring at least 63 civilians, including children.
Afghan security personnel inspect the scene of a car bomb blast at an intelligence complex in Aybak, the capital of northern Afghanistan’s Samangan province, on Monday, July 13, 2020. Taliban insurgents launched a complex. attack on the complex that started with a suicide bombing. officials said. (AP Photo)
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The escalation of violence across the country targeting Afghan forces is likely a tactic to arm the government to release nearly 600 additional Taliban prisoners before the group considers measures to end the war of nearly two decades in the region.
“We condemn today’s attack. The use of major explosives to detonate a vehicle in a provincial capital is unacceptable and will strengthen those who oppose peace and play into the hands of spoilers. All parties must reduce violence,” Khalilzad tweeted. Monday.
“Violence has been high, especially in recent days and weeks. Afghans continue to die in large numbers for no reason. The Taliban attack today in a provincial capital contradicts their commitment to reduce violence until a halt is reached. permanent fire in the intra-Afghan talks, “he added.
The government has released 4,199 Taliban prisoners and 779 Taliban members of the pro-government forces, according to figures provided by both sides, Al Jazeera reported.
Despite prisoner exchanges on both sides as stipulated in the agreement between the United States and the Taliban, talks for a mutual peace agreement have stalled, delaying its start that was supposed to start in March.
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“As we look to the next phase of implementation under the agreement, our approach will continue to be based on conditions,” said Khalilzad. “We will push for the completion of the prisoner releases, the reduction of violence, the full delivery of the TC commitments and the start and progress of the intra-Afghan negotiations.”
