Kabul: Sources within the Afghan government and the Taliban said an "unannounced ceasefire" has been in place since May 27 and will remain in effect for the next several days, but reports indicate that the three clashes occurred in Zabul, Farah and Parwan over the last 24 hours.

The Eid ceasefire--from May 24 to May 26-- was announced by the Taliban and reciprocated by the Afghan government, and, according to figures provided by the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, civilian casualties dropped by 80 percent.

There were reports of two security incidents in each of the three days of Eid, which was significantly less than recent averages.

According to the AIHRC, before the ceasefire, up to 30 Afghans were killed and wounded as a result of war and violence in the country on a daily basis.

Zabul in the south, Farah in the west and Parwan in the center of Afghanistan have witnessed clashes between government forces and the Taliban in the last 24 hours, according to officials and local sources.

Meanwhile, the Taliban has claimed that an airstrike by Afghan forces in Zabul has claimed civilians’ lives.

A former Taliban commander, Sayed Akbar Agha, said the group announced the Eid ceasefire on its own, it was not part of "an agreement."

The ceasefire was widely welcomed by Afghan and foreign officials who called for its extension.

The European Parliament in a joint statement released on May 27 called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the country.
Siahgerd district in Parwan witnessed Taliban attacks on Wednesday evening that continued until Thursday morning, according to the provincial governor’s spokesperson Wahida Shahkar.

“The Taliban attacked the local army’s outpost in Siahgerd district at 2 am and seven members of the local army were martyred and two of them were taken by the Taliban and one of them was wounded,” she said.

According to Dadullah Qane, a member of the Farah Provincial Council, the Taliban attacked the northern parts of the city of Farah on Wednesday evening.

“Any side who intentionally attacks civilians is disrespecting their countrymen,” Qane said.
But the north of the country has faced no clash in the last five days, according to security officials.

“Fortunately, there wasn’t any movement in the areas under Shaheen 209's responsibility and the ceasefire has been observed so far,” said Mohammad Haneef Rezaee, a spokesman for Shaheen 209 Corps.

The Taliban's Saturday night announcement of an Eid ceasefire prompted President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday to pledge the release of 2,000 Taliban prisoners for Eid.

The US-Taliban agreement calls for 5,000 Taliban detainees to be released by the Afghan government, and 1,000 security force members to be released by the Taliban.

900 Taliban prisoners were released since the Eid ceasefire was called, and more releases are planned.

On Thursday night the Taliban released 80 members of Afghan forces in Baghlan and Kunduz, said Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman of the group.

Afghans from different parts of the country have called for extension of the ceasefire, saying that now is the best time for it.

“We want the continuation of the ceasefire in Afghanistan so that we can continue our lives and work anywhere that we live,” said Suhdaba, a Balkh resident.

“We are tired of conflicts and instability. Let’s give a permanent ceasefire to Afghanistan,” said Jamshid, a Balkh resident.

https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/3-clashes-amid-unannounced-afghan-ceasefire