[Published: Monday June 18 2018]
 Taliban refuse to extend truce with Afghan forces
KABUL 18 Jun (ANA) - Afghanistan’s first taste of peace in 17 years is expected to end after the Taliban refused to extend a three-day ceasefire during which civilians, militants and soldiers hugged and danced together over the festival of Eid.
The Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said: “The ceasefire ends tonight [Sunday] and our operations begin tomorrow, inshallah [God willing].”
The Taliban’s decision to take up arms once more comes despite the Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, on Saturday indefinitely extending the Afghan government’s own ceasefire and his request that the militant group follow suit to prolong the first countrywide lull in hostilities since the US invasion in 2001. Hopes are nevertheless higher than ever before that an agreement can one day be reached.
On Sunday the Taliban ordered their fighters not to enter major cities after an Islamic State suicide bombing killed 26 people in Narangahar province, near the city of Jalalabad. Another Isis suicide attack in Jalalabad on Saturday killed 17.
However, the ceasefire between Afghan forces and the Taliban was scrupulously observed and some analysts said the order to fighters not to enter cities stemmed from concern that they might enjoy peace too much.
“Of course the leadership might fear some of them just stay,” said Thomas Ruttig, of the Afghan Analysts Network (AAN).
Over three days, Afghans witnessed the kind of scenes few dreamed possible. Thousands of Taliban fighters were welcomed into Kabul, Kunduz, Ghazni and other cities. Some posed for selfies with soldiers, some handed out red roses, and in Kabul some sought out a famous ice-cream parlour.(ANA)
FA/ANA/18 June 2018--------
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