‘Situation is Very Bad’: Taliban Kills 30 in Weakening Afghan Province Despite U.S. Peace Talks

The Taliban reportedly used the cover of darkness on early Thursday to launch a massive siege against a government compound and an army base in the Afghan province of Badghis, killing at least 30 soldiers and police officers in a sign that the terrorist group is intensifying its annual spring offensive amid ongoing negotiations to end to the conflict.

On a daily basis, Taliban narco-jihadis have been targeting the American-funded and trained Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) — which includes police and military units — even as they discuss peace with an envoy from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.

The New York Times (NYT) reveals:

Hundreds of Taliban fighters stormed the center of Bala Murghab District in Badghis Province in the predawn hours, according to Abdul Waris Shirzad, the district governor. The district has come under intense insurgent pressure in recent weeks, with officials warning that it could fall unless reinforcements are sent in.

“The district will collapse to the Taliban if reinforcement does not arrive,” Afghan member of parliament (MP) Ziauddin Akazi said.                                                                                                                   

“No one is hearing our voice; no reinforcements arrived yet,” said Gov. Shirzad, who confirmed that 30 police officers and soldiers had died in the Taliban raid, added.

Acknowledging that the Taliban had surrounded his district’s police forces in the governor’s office and soldiers on an army base, the governor warned, “If the government does not send more forces, there will be a disaster in the district.”

“The security situation is very bad there,” Jamshid Shahabi, a spokesman for the governor of Badghis, conceded, adding, “both sides suffered casualties” in the attack.

NYT proclaims:

The Taliban attacks are intensifying at a time when Zalmay Khalilzad, the American special envoy, is visiting Afghanistan to build a national consensus on the peace talks with the insurgents. Although the Americans have made progress in negotiations over two components of a deal, including withdrawing American troops from the country and barring terrorist groups from staging attacks on the United States and its allies from Afghan soil, the next steps in the peace process have proved difficult.

The Taliban’s refusal to meet with the Afghan government has surfaced as the main hurdle to the peace process, and it has also hurt the Kabul-Washington relationship. Deadly Taliban attacks have also been raging elsewhere amid the ongoing peace talks.