Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


US Sees Significant Decline in Fatalities Among Afghan Forces, Civilians

Ayaz Gul

   ISLAMABAD - The U.S. peace envoy to Afghanistan said Friday that
   violence in the war-torn country had lately been "too high," but that
   fatalities among Afghan government security forces battling the Taliban
   insurgency had dropped 35 percent to 40 percent compared with the same
   period in 2019.

   Zalmay Khalilzad, the special representative for Afghan reconciliation,
   also noted that no American or coalition solider had been killed by the
   Taliban since the United States [1]signed a landmark agreement with the
   insurgent group in February to end the nearly 19-year-old Afghan war,
   America's longest.

   Khalilzad, who negotiated and sealed the deal, shared the assessment
   while speaking to an online forum in Washington arranged by the
   [2]United States Institute of Peace.

   "This year, the number of Afghan security forces killed is between 35
   and 40% less than last year for the same period and the number of
   civilians killed is also significantly lower for the same period
   compared to last year," the Afghan-born U.S. envoy said.

   Hurdles to peace talks

   He lamented, however, that the recent intensification in violence and a
   protracted prisoner swap between the Kabul government and the Taliban
   stand in the way of the opening of much-awaited peace negotiations
   between Afghan parties to the conflict. Both crucial next steps are
   stipulated in the U.S.-Taliban pact.

   Khalilzad said the Trump administration was "not satisfied" with the
   current level of violence and was working with both Afghan adversaries
   to encourage them to reduce it further.

   "I am hoping that as we move closer to intra-Afghan negotiations, which
   I hope will happen in the coming weeks, that violence will be less than
   it is now," Khalilzad stressed.

   The proposed dialogue is aimed at reaching a permanent cease-fire and a
   political formula for ending decades of hostilities in Afghanistan. But
   the opening of the dialogue is directly tied to the conclusion of the
   prisoner swap, as outlined in the February 29 accord.

References

   1. https://www.voanews.com/south-central-asia/us-taliban-sign-historic-afghan-peace-deal
   2. https://www.usip.org/about

.