Afghanistan: Taliban announce a three

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Burial in Kabul after a car bomb attack over the weekend

Photo: Sayed Mominzadah / imago images / Xinhua

In Afghanistan, the militant Islamist Taliban have announced a three-day ceasefire for the upcoming holidays at the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

All Taliban fighters are instructed to cease offensive operations across the country from the first to the third day of the traditional sugar festival, according to a Taliban statement published on Monday night.

The holidays, also known as Eid al-Fitr, begin on Wednesday or Thursday, depending on the sighting of the moon.

Taliban fighters were prohibited in the statement from visiting the government-controlled areas or giving "enemy personnel" access to areas controlled by the Islamists.

A response from the government in Kabul is still pending.

The Taliban had already stopped the fire at the end of Ramadan in the past.

In 2018, many Taliban fighters visited government-held areas, and there were fraternization scenes with security forces.

The security situation in Afghanistan is tense.

Since the official withdrawal of international troops from Afghanistan on May 1, the Taliban have launched several offensives in several provinces.

Some of them succeeded, others were able to repel the government security forces.

There were also numerous skirmishes on Monday night.

Heaviest attack in a year

At least eleven people died in a bomb attack on a bus in Afghanistan.

As the Interior Ministry announced in Kabul, 28 other people were killed in the attack in Sabul province in the south-east of the country.

Accordingly, the bomb was deposited on the roadside.

At the weekend, the attack on a girls' school in Kabul caused more than 50 deaths.

According to the Interior Ministry, a car bomb detonated in front of the school.

When the students ran out of the building in a panic, two more explosive devices exploded.

The majority of the victims are young schoolgirls.

It was the worst attack in Afghanistan in over a year.

The government blamed the Taliban for the crime.

The Islamists rejected this.

mfh / dpa / AFP