The US and the Taliban are on the brink of striking a deal after 18 years of war, Washington’s top negotiator said Sunday, ahead of a visit to Kabul where he was to meet with Afghan officials.
The apparent progress at the latest round of talks to conclude in Doha came even as the Taliban launched a broad offensive on the city of Kunduz in northern Afghanistan, and violence flared.
“We are at the threshold of an agreement that will reduce violence and open the door for Afghans to sit together to negotiate an honourable and sustainable peace,” tweeted Washington’s special envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad.
His comment came just hours after Afghan security forces said they had cleared Kunduz of Taliban fighters, who on Saturday launched a broad assault on the provincial capital in a bid to score a repeat of a 2015 takeover.
Afghan forces, backed with local and US air power, were able to stop the city falling and repel the Taliban, but 20 troops and five civilians were killed.
The brazenness of the assault was highlighted by a suicide bomber blowing himself up and killing police spokesman Sayed Sarwar Hussaini as he briefed reporters on the fighting. At least 10 others were also killed, officials said. In 2015 the Taliban overwhelmed local forces and briefly seized Kunduz, and it was only retaken by Afghan forces with US air support.