The United States' envoy for Afghanistan is traveling to Qatar to urge the Taliban to cease their military offensive and negotiate a political agreement, the United States State Department announced on Monday (August 9th).
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"
Emissary (Zalmay) Khalilzad will be in Doha to help put in place a joint international response to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Afghanistan
," the State Department said in a statement.
He will urge the Taliban to cease their military offensive and to negotiate a political agreement, the only way leading to stability and development in Afghanistan
”. The statement also stressed that "
the intensification of the Taliban military offensive, which is causing civilian casualties on both sides, and alleged human rights violations, are very worrying
."
The withdrawal of international forces was decided by former US President Donald Trump.
Joe Biden has pushed the deadline back a few months, but US and foreign forces will have completely left the country by the end of the month.
The fast-paced Taliban now control five of the nine provincial capitals in the north and fighting is ongoing in the other four.