Deborah Lyons, UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, while briefing the UN Security Council on Thursday called for a humanitarian ceasefire to be announced in the country as the negotiating teams of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban prepare to sit in Doha for talks that are aimed to end the deadly conflict that has gripped the nation for the past two decades.

Lyons highlighted key developments around peace, human rights, the humanitarian situation and other pressing issues, stating that a humanitarian ceasefire was crucial to ensure that humanitarian efforts are delivered.

“I want to emphasize again the importance of the humanitarian ceasefire. This is a win win for both parties to the peace talks and it is clearly a win for the Afghan people. We all need to be raising our voices to focus on the need for a humanitarian ceasefire,” said Lyons.

She reiterated the imperative for intra-Afghan negotiations and a political solution to end the conflict.

https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/un-envoy-calls-%E2%80%98humanitarian-ceasefire%E2%80%99-ahead-doha-talks