MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th July, 2020) NATO said Monday it was committed to a lasting peace in Afghanistan and urged the warring parties to stick to political process after a UN report raised alarm over civilian deaths.
The UN mission in the country said a 13 percent drop in civilian casualties in the first half of 2020, compared to 2019, was mainly linked to the international military forces and the local branch of Islamic State (a terror group banned in Russia). It added "worrying civilian casualty trends" were as before attributable to the Taliban and the Afghan security forces.
"The best way to end the suffering of civilians is to pursue political settlement of the conflict. All parties agree there is no military solution. #NATO remains committed to helping #Afghanistan achieve lasting peace, for the benefit of all Afghans," NATO in Afghanistan tweeted.
The coalition's office said "unacceptable violence" by the Taliban was the cause of the majority of civilian casualties and demanded that the insurgent group live up to its commitments under the deal with Washington and start intra-Afghan talks as soon as possible.
