The United Nations mission in Afghanistan welcomed the ceasefire offered by the country's President Ashraf Ghani to the Taliban movement, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a news briefing on Monday.
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th August, 2018) The United Nations mission in Afghanistan welcomed the ceasefire offered by the country's President Ashraf Ghani to the Taliban movement, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a news briefing on Monday.
"Today, the UN mission in Afghanistan welcomed the announcement by the government of Afghanistan of a conditional ceasefire," Dujarric told reporters.
Ghani instructed the nation's security forces to keep the operations against the Taliban in full force until the movement agrees to declare a ceasefire.
Dujarric said the United Nations is calling on the parties to the conflict in Afghanistan to seize this opportunity to negotiate and eventually end the violence in the region.
The United Nations mission is ready to play any role in the peace talks process in the country, Dujarric added.
Last week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the parties to the conflict in Afghanistan to begin talks and achieve a ceasefire to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid.
On Sunday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the time for peace in Afghanistan has come and the United States was prepared to facilitate dialogue between the parties to the conflict.
Afghanistan has recently seen an upsurge in violence with Taliban advancing into several areas of the country and killing dozens of Afghan security forces as well as with terrorist attacks being conducted such as the one in an education facility Kabul on Wednesday that killed 48 people.
