KABUL, Apr 12 (NNN-XINHUA) – War-weary Afghans are calling for a cease-fire to be observed during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which starts on Apr 13, this year (tomorrow).
In war-battered Afghanistan, fighting and violence have been continuing, and in the latest wave, over 50 people, including Taliban militants, government security personnel and civilians were killed, according to sources and local media reports.
An explosive device went off in Imam Sahib district of the northern Kunduz province yesterday, killing two civilians and injuring another.
District chief, Nazikmir Akbari, blamed the Taliban militants for planting the explosive device to terrorise the local residents.
A similar blast claimed the lives of two children in Arghandab district, in the southern Kandahar province on Saturday, police spokesperson, Jamal Barikzai, said.
According to security officials, 18 militants have been killed in Kandahar and 14 more in the neighbouring Uruzgan province since Saturday.
At least 16 more insurgents have recently been killed in the Wardak, Kunduz and Samangan provinces, according to officials.
“The month of Ramadan is the month of peace and brotherhood and therefore I ask the Taliban and the government, to observe cease-fire and let the Afghans live in peace at least during Ramadan,” Noorul Haq Khan, a Kabul resident, told Xinhua.
Afghanistan’s first Vice President, Amrullah Saleh, at a gathering in the Shamali area, outside the capital, Kabul yesterday, called on the Taliban outfit to meet the demand by the Afghan people for a cease-fire.
Afghanistan’s lawmaker, Mohiudin Munsif, said that, “The Taliban should observe ceasefire, at least in Ramadan,” if they want peace.
According to reports, a former Taliban commander, Sayed Akbar Agha, said, “no sign of observing cease-fire from the Taliban” has been seen.
Local media reports said, 79 security personnel and 28 civilians have been killed and 106 others, including 57 civilians injured, over the past seven days in Afghanistan.– NNN-XINHUA
